Family pursues project

The owners are asking the public to send letters of support to the state.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- Carmen Shick's grandfather was fond of telling him that opportunities don't just happen: You have to recognize them and then pursue them.
So when Pennsylvania officials started giving serious consideration to allowing slot machines at thoroughbred and harness racing tracks, Shick recognized an opportunity.
"When I looked at this thing it was the most tremendous opportunity I've ever seen," said Shick.
Now he's pursuing it and trying to get as much public support as possible for Bedford Downs, a proposed 550-acre racetrack three miles east of the Pennsylvania-Ohio border just off U.S. Route 422 in Lawrence County.
The proposed complex is located on the family homestead that was largely maintained by his grandfather, Carmen Ambrosia, who started the family business that includes trucking, mining and residential development.
"It's the most important piece of real estate we own," Shick said.
Shick said the plan eventually got the OK from his grandmother, who still lives on the homestead, after she learned that most of her friends are spending a few weekends a month traveling to slot parlors in West Virginia.
Outlined plan
Shick outlined the plan before the Shenango Valley Chamber of Commerce Thursday. Along with the presentation, Shick and his sister, Kendra Tabak, were asking attendees to send letters of support for Bedford Downs.
"We have much to overcome. We're not at the top of the food chain politically. Our best opportunity is to have the support of the people," he said.
So far, about 15,000 people, including some from Ohio, have sent letters of support for the project, he said.
State lawmakers are still wrestling with the gambling issue and are expected to vote on the matter in late May or early June.
Until the legislation is passed, it doesn't appear that the state racing commission will start the process of determining who will get the last two racetrack licenses in the state -- one for harness racing and one for thoroughbred.
Shick said the Legislature's decision on gambling will affect his ability to go forward with the project. Without the slot machines it will be much harder to do, he said.
There are eight companies vying for a thoroughbred license and five for the harness license. Bedford Downs has applied for both, but is only hoping to walk away with the harness license, said Richard H. Miller of Keystone Research Inc., a consultant working for Bedford Downs.
What study found
Miller said a study commissioned by the state senate found that the Lawrence County site would be the third most lucrative venue in the state after slots parlors in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
"We are far enough away from the others that we would not cannibalize them. Ours also opens up the Ohio valley," Miller said.
The site has about 5.5 million people living within a 70-mile radius, he added.
Shick estimates the track would employee about 700 people. Adding the slots could take that number above 2,000, he said. Plans eventually call for a hotel, outlet-style retail shops and time-share condominiums.
Shick estimates he's already sunk about $1 million into the Bedford Downs plan. That money has gone to architects and professional gaming and horse-racing management companies working on the project, he said. Shick added that his proposal is one of the few that would be completely funded by private money. His family has talked to several banks about loaning money for the project.