Austintown racino construction could resume in a week
Austintown racino construction could resume in a week
COLUMBUS — Penn National Gaming could be a week away from restarting construction at an Austintown racino, after presenting state racing officials with a plan to add hundreds more seats to the proposed facility.
Company officials said Wednesday they were willing to commit to boosting the number of indoor seats with track views to more than 1,000 if patron demand merits the expansion.
The chairman of the state racing commission said the panel would meet again in about a week and could make a final decision on Penn’s proposed relocation of a suburban Columbus track to the Youngstown area.
The company and the commission have been at odds for weeks over seating at the racino, with commissioners saying there weren’t enough to accommodate cold-weather racing fans and Penn saying the proposed seating is adequate for a facility where many customers would be more focused on playing video lottery terminals.