Casino backers buy property for Columbus site


January 18, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

COLUMBUS (AP) — The company bringing casinos to Ohio has finished buying property for the Columbus location authorized by voters but says it’s still considering alternative sites in the city.

The Wyomissing, Pa.-based Penn National Gaming said Friday it bought 24 acres in the city’s Arena District, a growing downtown development that’s home to the Blue Jackets hockey team.

Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman has suggested four alternative sites around the city, including a former minor-league baseball stadium and a dying mall.

Penn National says it’s open to a site outside the Arena District as long as it speeds up construction and allows an earlier casino opening.

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