MISSION — In conversations with tribal elders, Wildhorse Resort & Casino Chief Executive Officer Gary George said staff learned that the area where the casino is now used to be filled with aspen groves.

So when it came time to name Wildhorse’s new bowling alley, Quaking Aspens Lanes was born.

Citing their role as the primary investors in Wildhorse’s latest expansion, George said at a Tuesday, Sept. 22, grand opening ceremony that Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation members would get the first crack at the new, $35 million facility later that day before it opened to the general public on Thursday, Sept. 24.

As much as the grand opening was a celebration of Wildhorse’s future, George spent time reflecting on the past.

George said the process started in 2015 when Wildhorse started conducting feasibility studies on an expansion and visiting other casinos to observe how their bowling alleys functioned.

He later added that the bowling alley was originally “Phase B” in the expansion plan, with a second hotel tower being the focal point of the revamped Wildhorse.

But once cost estimates started coming in, George said Wildhorse pivoted to a plan centered around the bowling alley. A pool and indoor arena were also left on the cutting room floor.

By the time COVID-19 set in, the project’s smaller scale was locked in.

In a blessing and invocation, Board of Trustees member Armand Minthorn referenced the challenges brought to the reservation.

“This virus has brought the best out of each and every one of you,” he said.

The CTUIR hasn’t been spared from the impact of COVID-19. The Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center reported a total of 76 cases and one death as of Sept. 23, although the Tribes seemed to have rebounded, with no active cases.

A regional surge in cases caused Wildhorse to suspend operations for two months, and when it reopened its doors, new health precautions were put in place. Despite fluctuations in countywide case numbers, Wildhorse has mostly remained open since reopening in mid-May.

Quaking Aspens is also subject to COVID-19 health measures. Besides facility-wide requirements to wear face masks and pass an external temperature check, Quaking Lanes will close every other lane to encourage social distancing. The new arcade — one of the other major components of the expansion — will operate at a reduced capacity and require all guests to wear gloves when using the arcade machines.

Kat Brigham, the chair of the Board of Trustees, said it was nice for tribal members and other locals to have a place to bowl again. The Pendleton area has been without a bowling alley since Rodeo Lanes closed in 2014.

“There’s a lot to do here,” she said. “It’s not just gambling.”

In previous speeches, George has said that Wildhorse’s future growth opportunities are in entertainment and hospitality rather than gambling. In addition to the new bowling alley and arcade, Wildhorse has spent recent years buying the former Pendleton Country Club and the Hamley’s complex in downtown Pendleton.

But Wildhorse still has an eye on its role as an economic booster for the Tribes. The food court that accompanies the bowling alley features two businesses owned by tribal members — Moe Pho and Brigham Fish n’ Chips.

After the speeches were made and the ribbon was cut, members of the Board of Trustees got the honor of bowling a game in the alley, cheers ringing out during strikes and groans rising if a ball skidded into the gutter.

A small plaque near the Quaking Lanes entrance explains that “nixyaawii” — a tribal word that adorns both the reservation’s school and governance center — can be translated as “aspen springs.” But as time went on, the people of the CTUIR came to know nixyaawii as a word for home.

“Know that while you are here, you are home,” the plaque states.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been changed to reflect a correction. The correct name of Wildhorse’s new food court restaurant is Brigham Fish n’ Chips.]