Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino will become a “stay where you play” gaming venue when an attached hotel property opens next spring.

The 168-room hotel, now being built onto the Meadows Events and Conference Center, will provide interior access to both the conference center and the casino. It will also cater to conferences and business travelers with amenities such as a presidential suite, a multipurpose meeting room that can seat up to 520 for a banquet, and a fully equipped conference room featuring a smart board, a sound system with teleconference capabilities and high-speed Internet.

The Weitz Co. is the general contractor for the $32.9 million construction project, which is about 60 percent completed. The four-story hotel also will feature a pool and spa, deluxe exercise room and a bar and lounge off the main lobby. Other amenities include a business center, free high-speed Internet and a small dining area. Twenty-five rooms on one floor will be designated as smoking rooms.

The 6,270-square-foot Skinner Ballroom can be divided into five smaller rooms, with food service provided by the hotel’s kitchen. Larger banquets will be accommodated by the casino’s kitchen.

Large red canopies that match Prairie Meadows’ architecture will mark the two main entrances to the hotel, one of which will lead to the large, high-ceilinged lobby, with the other entrance providing access to both the conference center and the hotel. Guests will also have access to the casino through a hallway on the hotel’s second floor.

“A hotel located on our premises will allow Prairie Meadows to become a full-service entertainment destination,” said Gary Palmer, Prairie Meadows’ president and CEO. “Having a hotel on site allows our guests to take better advantage of our many entertainment options. For example, hotel guests might come for a convention or trade show and stay over the next day for a concert, take in the races, or play in a poker tournament.”

Cities Edge Architects, based in Willmar, Minn., is the architect for the project, with consulting and civil engineering services by Snyder & Associates Inc. Shive-Hattery Inc. and Heart of America Group LLC provided design and hotel consulting services.

Prairie Meadows’ board of directors approved the hotel project last November, following passage of a public referendum earlier that month for the casino to continue operations in Polk County. The casino spent approximately $1 million last fall for landscaping and demolition to prepare the site for construction prior to the referendum.