Penn National predicts 2014 opening of racino, 1K jobs

By Ashley Luthern

aluthern@vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

Hollywood Slots

Video

Penn National officials provide details of the proposed Austintown racino to leaders and residents.

Penn National Gaming Inc. is expected to break ground on the Hollywood Slots at Mahoning Valley Race Course this fall and open the gaming and racetrack facility in early 2014, a spokesman said Thursday.

The $125 million Hollywood Slots project will create about 1,000 direct and indirect jobs, in addition to about 1,000 construction jobs, said Eric Schippers, company spokesman.

Penn National representatives addressed government officials, business owners and residents at an Austintown Township trustees meeting Thursday afternoon.

Company spokesman Bob Tenenbaum added that Penn National aims to hire local people and local construction companies.

“We almost always work with union construction companies,” Tenenbaum said.

In addition to its $125 million facility, Penn National is paying the state $75 million in relocation fees, paying $50 million to the lottery commission to have video-lottery terminals in the facility and will pay Austintown township $1 million for the first two years, per requirements in recent legislation.

There also is a memorandum of understanding for Penn National to give Austintown $500,000 annually after the first two years, Schippers said.

Penn National Gaming still has to secure the necessary permits and formal approval from the state racing commission.

Schippers said once a process to get those permits is finalized by the commission, expected to be completed by September, the company could break ground this fall.

Austintown trustees praised the company and state Rep. Ronald V. Gerberry of Austintown, D-59th, and state Sen. Joe Schiavoni, D-33rd, of Boardman, for their legislative efforts.

Trustee David Ditzler compared the economic development to that of V&M Star and General Motors Lordstown plant.

“It’s a bright day in Austintown,” he said.

Penn National owns, operates or has ownership interests in gaming and racing facilities in 27 facilities in 19 jurisdictions, including the Hollywood casinos in Toledo and planned for Columbus.

Hollywood Slots

The gaming and racetrack facility will be built on 186 acres near state Route 46 and Interstate 80 with one entry way off Silica Road.

A 1-mile dirt thoroughbred race- track is planned, along with a two-tier grandstand and outdoor observation area, said Chris McErlean, vice president of racing at Penn

National.

The horse stables will feature

fully-enclosed barns that can house 50 horses and will be located to the left of the track near the industrial area of property. The stables will be accessed through a secured road, policed by track security and the racing commission, McErlean said.

Penn National is working with the Ohio Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, and McErlean estimated between 500 and 800 horses will be stabled at the Austintown facility during race season.

The stable area also includes a dormitory for workers and trainers that can accommodate about 100 people and will have a food facility inside of it, McErlean said.

The horses will train daily from about dawn to 10 a.m. and eight to nine races will be run between 1noon and 5 p.m. about four days each week. Noise from the track will be minimal, he said.

McErlean said Penn National must apply annually to the racing commission for race dates, and

usually between 75 to 125 racing dates are set each year. There are plans to coordinate with Thistledown race dates so the two tracks don’t directly compete, he added.

Schippers said the racing is just as important as the gaming.

“There’s a sensitivity that racing is an afterthought. That is not the case,” he said.

Visitors to Hollywood Slots will see a retail area when they first walk in, then they will reach the gaming floor, food court and entertainment lounge which will feature local and regional acts. The slots will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

An escalator will lead up to the two-tier racing grandstands and a theater where visitors can watch and bet on horse races around the world, he said.

Terrace dining and box seating also are planned for that area.

An exact square-footage of the facility was not available Thursday.

Addressing concerns

The Hollywood Slots plan was designed to withstand competition should Thistledown racetrack relocate to Akron and a racetrack-casino development is built in western Pennsylvania by American Harness Tracks, which has secured a harness racing license, Schippers said.

Although the plan takes into account that competition, Schippers argued Penn National has the advantage.

“We have healthy balance sheets and we write checks,” he said. “...That has had a titanically chilling effect on [competitors’] ability to get financing.”

Schippers said he expects Hollywood Slots to compete well with Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort, even though Mountaineer has table games and the Austintown racino will not.

Some at the presentation voiced concern about crime and asked about security measures.

Schippers said security will be “robust” with personnel in all areas and security cameras monitoring the parking lot and “every square inch” of the interior.

One resident asked about the track’s proximity to residential housing.

Schippers promised the company will work with residents and show them the plans, which currently include a 300-foot buffer between the south part of the track and the houses with heavy landscaping.

Zoning Inspector Darren Crivelli added that necessary portions of wetlands on the property will be preserved, as determined during the engineer stage.

Sylvia Kronk lives three streets away from the project.

“I feel for the people in its path. But we need something around here; things are so bad,” she said.

Schippers also expressed a commitment to working with local businesses.

“We don’t build in a vacuum,” he said, adding Penn National doesn’t want to “cannibalize” other businesses.

That was what Lynsey Elmo and Rachel Miskell, managers at Fairfield Inn & Suites, wanted to hear.

“We don’t want them to build a hotel. We’re right next door. We are their neighbors,” said Elmo, a sales manager.

Miskell, general manager, said she expects occupancy to increase once Hollywood Slots opens.

Officials said the ripple effect of Hollywood Slots is just as important as the racino itself.

“This facility just brings opportunity to this Valley,” Ditzler said.