Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain is an integrated resort in Wheatland, California, United States, situated north of Sacramento near the Toyota Amphitheatre in Yuba County. It is owned by the Enterprise Rancheria, while it is managed by Hard Rock International and opened in October 2019.
Initially, a standalone Hard Rock Cafe debuted in 1997and closed in 2010, while the casino's planning dates back to 2002. It was delayed due to several lawsuits and complaints from competing tribes, though it finally began construction in spring 2016as the Fire Mountain Casino. After construction was halted in the summer of that year as problems continued, the tribe partnered with the Seminole Tribe of Florida in the summer of 2018to finish the project under its current name.
History 1997–2010: Original location
The original Hard Rock Cafe opened in 1997, in Downtown Plaza (K Street Mall) at 545Downtown Plaza in Sacramento, California. It closed permanently on March 27, 2010after its lease expired. Hard Rock International chose not to renew the lease, framing it as a "strategic business decision", as Westfield Downtown Plaza's vacancies were growing.
2002–2016: Initial plans, controversy, and construction On June 26, 2002, the Estom Yumeka Maidu Tribe of the Enterprise Rancheria submitted a federal request to acquire of land in trust near Wheatland—35miles north of Sacramento–to build an off-reservation casino hotel. The original proposal for the integrated resort was a $140 million to $170 million project, featuring an eight-story hotel tower with 170rooms, a buffet, two restaurants, a pool, a spa, retail space, and arcade. The casino floor would span , with 1,700to 2,500 slot machines and table games.
The proposal faced criticism from competing tribes, particularly the United Auburn Indian Community, which owns the Thunder Valley Casino Resort, the Cachil Dehe Band of Wintun Indians of the Colusa Indian Community, which owns the Colusa Casino, and Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, which owns the Cache Creek Casino Resort. They filed a lawsuit for "reservation shopping," attempting to legally invalidate the Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA) authority to take the Yuba County site into trust for the Enterprise Rancheria on September 3, 2011. The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar was used to back up their arguments, which stated that the federal government can only take land into federal trust for tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" when the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934was created. The rival tribes accused Enterprise Rancheria of not meeting to this criteria, but judges rejected this argument, citing that the BIA had organized an official election for the Enterprise tribe in 1935. This confirmation status led to the Enterprise Rancheria to win the lawsuit on September 28, 2015.
On September 6, 2014, the rival tribes successfully convinced the California Legislature to stall and refuse ratification of the Class III gaming compact signed by California Governor Jerry Brown for "failing to negotiate in good faith." By September 29, 2015, the casino plans were altered to feature Class II games and a downsized format of . The tribe did not chose their own reservation land in Butte County, California because its casino market was saturated. However, the competing tribes targeted the BIA's environmental review process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on October 23, 2015, arguing that the DOI completely ignored alternate sites regarding economic harm that the Enterprise Rancheria already owned a "larger, suitable" parcel of land within Butte County. Judges, however, repeatedly ruling that federal law does not legally ban tribal casinos from market competition.
Construction on the project finally began on April 8, 2016, planned to be called the Fire Mountain Casino. By then, it would cost $170 million. $697,120 and another $697,120 was shared to Yuba County and the City of Marysville. However, an appeal from the United Auburn Indian Community successfully forced all construction on the project to be suspended, which happened in late July of that year.
2018–2019: Hard Rock partnership and opening On July 16, 2018, the Enterprise Rancheria announced a joint venture with Hard Rock International, owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. As a result, the original 2016plans were canceled in favor of a $440 million mega-resort. The new proposal included scaling up to 1,800slots and tables, 170rooms and suites, and a collection of restaurants and bars. The "Fire Mountain Casino" name was also scrapped as part of the collaboration, and the project would be rebranded as the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain. Construction officially resumed in late 2018after the legal battle finally ended.
A topping-off ceremony was held on February 14, 2019. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain had its grand opening celebration on October 30of that year, with the Hard Rock Guitar Smash, and the donation of $100,000 to the Enterprise Community Foundation. The $450 million resort was built on of land. The hotel had 169rooms, while 1,587slot machines and 57table games were on the Vegas-style casino floor, alongside a gambling room exclusive to travelers coming from the San Francisco Bay Area. As the property at the time did not feature a concert venue yet, Hard Rock partnered with Live Nation in July of that year to host an official, commemorative concert at the neighboring Toyota Amphitheatre, which took place on November 2, featuring Def Leppard, Last in Line, and Don Felder.
2020–present Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento would close temporarily on March 19, 2020due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reopening two months later under the Hard Rock's "Safe + Sound" social distancing guidelines.
Features Resort amenities The hotel was planned to have the Body Rock Fitness Center and Rock Shop when it topped out in mid-February 2019.
Restaurants, shopping and entertainment When the resort opened in late October 2019, it featured a flagship Hard Rock Cafe, Council Oaks Steaks & Seafood, an Asian restaurant known as Song, YouYu Noodle Bar, and 24/7 Constant Grind. The 2,500-seat Hard Rock Live venue would have its debut at the resort on June 3, 2022, with a concert from Maroon 5, and also with involvement from Live Nation Entertainment. The architect for the theater was Scéno Plus.
In mid-April 2025, the Enterprise Rancheria purchased of land, and announced an aggressive, $2 billion to $4 billion -expansion, planning to add an open-air retail and dining promenade, an indoor-outdoor water park, youth sports training facilities, an agricultural rodeo events center, and potentially even a stadium, expected to start construction from 2026to 2027, with an expected completion date of five to ten years.
See also American Dream (shopping mall), with its development and expansions similar to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento Hard Rock Hotel and Casino (Las Vegas) and The Joint (music venue) Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida Hard Rock Live (Hollywood, FL)
References Explanatory notes
Sources
External links