If all goes well, Valley track could open in 2013

February 11, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

COLUMBUS

Racetracks in Austintown and Dayton could be open in 2013 if gaming company Penn National is allowed to relocate its tracks from Toledo and Columbus.

Representatives of the company outlined their plans and that goal Thursday to the Ohio State Racing Commission.

Company officials hope to move Raceway Park in Toledo to a 186-acre site in Austintown near the intersection of Interstate 80 and state Route 11. Beulah Park would be relocated to a former Delphi automotive plant north of Dayton.

“It is all contingent on [video lottery terminal] authorization here in the state of Ohio,” said Penn National President and Chief Operating Officer Tim Wilmott.

Penn cited the proximity of the tracks to casinos it is building in Columbus and Toledo as reason for moving them, plus the potential to draw customers from neighboring states.

He also indicated that there’s declining wagering and business at the existing tracks, so the company isn’t going to invest the kind of money in improvements at them as it would if they are moved to the other sites.

Penn would pay $400 million to relocate the tracks — a total that includes $130 million in state licensing fees. And the company projected creating about 2,000 construction jobs to complete the relocation, about 1,500 full-time positions at each site and more than $200 million in increased state gaming tax revenues.

“Certainly, these new facilities will have new grandstands, new dining options, new simulcast theaters, new racing surfaces,” Wilmott said. “And we also would entertain the option for an off-track wagering operation at our land-based casino in Toledo.”

Gov. John Kasich has said he is considering slots for racetracks but has not yet made a firm decision.

“We have not yet started any dialogue with the new governor’s administration,” Wilmott said. “We... have no indication of where the governor is on VLTs.”

Without the Lottery-run VLTs approval, however, Penn National would continue to operate Beulah Park in the Columbus area and Raceway Park in Toledo.

“We’re breaking even — we’re not losing money, we’re not making money, it’s a break-even operation,” Wilmott said of the two tracks.