NATCHEZ — The economy and credit crisis are to blame for delays in construction of a casino under Roth Hill, a Natchez Enterprises spokesman said Tuesday night.

Ted Doody met with the Natchez Board of Aldermen in executive session for approximately 45 minutes.

After the meeting, Doody said the company still hopes to move forward with its plans.

“We suffered a setback just like everybody else when the economy took a downturn and the financial sector collapsed,” he said. “The capital we had raised withdrew.”

He said for six months, Natchez Enterprises officials have been working to re-establish those funds and find new sources of capital.

“It’s been a pretty bleak credit market for the better part of last year,” Doody said.

But now things are looking brighter.

“We’ve got several new sources of capital lined up,” he said. “We look to have 100 percent of the capital required to complete the project committed in the near future.”

He said lamentably, it is too soon to say when a possible groundbreaking would be.

Reports of repeated groundbreakings were given last year with none ever coming to fruition. Tuesday night’s update was the first at an aldermen meeting in 2009.

Mayor Jake Middleton said the board of aldermen has been antsy in its desire to get the project off the ground.

Doody said the board fired questions at him over the project, but overall were accepting of the reasons it slowed down.

“I think they understand it’s a tough time,” he said.

Doody said several months ago, Natchez Enterprises exercised the option it has on the lease of the Roth Hill land, meaning they would be actively leasing the land instead of just asking the city to hold on to it.

When Natchez Enterprises entered the lease contract with the city, it agreed to pay the city $100,000 for the lease.

That money is currently being held in escrow by the city, and cannot be used until the project is in full motion or if Natchez Enterprises pulls out of the deal.

The casino, once operational, is required by the contract to pay the city $1 million each year.

In it’s first year, the $100,000 can be paid toward that $1 million.