Valley enters 2015 expecting good things from the racino and the Air Reserve Station

As 2014 came to a close, there were two stories that certainly justify our continued attention given the economic ramifications for the Mahoning Valley.

The first involves one of the most important employers in the region, the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna Township. The second has to do with a relatively new entertainment venue in the area, Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course in Austintown. While they are polar opposites in what they represent, both the air base and the racino are important to our future.

No one living in the Mahoning Valley can feign ignorance about the home of the 910th Airlift Wing and Navy and Marine Corps Reserve units. With about 1,500 reservists and civilian employees, the base adjacent to the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport pumps $100 million into the local economy. But more than that, the installation is important to the nation’s military preparedness and defense, which is why we were holding our breaths last December as Congress put the final touches to the National Defense Authorization Act.

Of particular interest to this region was an amendment pushed by Ohio’s two U.S. senators, Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican Rob Portman, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, and other members of the state’s congressional delegation requiring the modernization of the C-130 fleet used by the Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard.

There are eight C-130 cargo and troop transport planes based at the air base in Vienna Township and eight operating out of Mansfield by the Ohio Air National Guard’s 179th Airlift Wing.

Federal, international standards

The planes must be upgraded by 2020 to meet federal and international standards to be able to continue performing national security and emergency response missions without a costly overhaul.

The amendment in the defense authorization bill would allow the Air Force to use a less- expensive communication and navigation overhaul without sacrificing safety and effectiveness.

There are more than 260 C-130s in operation nationally, which means there was widespread interest in Congress to ensure that the amendment remained in the bill. It did. In mid- December the Senate passed the defense spending bill with the C-130s upgrade included.

Not only was it a victory for Ohio’s legislators who invested a great of time and political capital in making sure that the reserve base in Vienna and the air national guard unit in Mansfield weren’t left high and dry, but it was good news for the Mahoning Valley, which continues to keep a close watch over the goings-on in Washington with regard to the push in Congress to reduce the number of military installations in the country. A base closing commission has been at work for several years identifying the facilities that are not needed, but thus far, this region has been fortunate in having the Youngstown Air Reserve Station kept off the list.

But there are no guarantees, which is why we have long advocated diligence on the part of the Valley’s business, political and community leaders. We need to be ever mindful of the fact that every community with a military installation is building support in Washington. The competition is intense.

Likewise, the competition among the four cities in Ohio that have Vegas-style casinos and the seven communities that have racinos — horse racing tracks and slots-only casinos — is also intense.

Thus, when Penn National Gaming, one of the nation’s leading gaming entertainment companies, opened its $250 million Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course in Austintown last summer, there was concern that it had come too late to the game. After all, the casinos in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo were already operating, as were many of the racinos.

Expansion possibilities

Penn National officials were cautiously optimistic not only about the slots, but horse racing, which began last fall. By year’s end, Penn National officials were singing the praises of the people of the Valley. The revenue projections have been surpassed several fold, and there now is talk of a possible expansion of the gaming facility to accommodate more slot machines.

As for the thoroughbred horse racing, the reaction from the state’s racing commission, horsemen’s association, horse owners, trainers, jockeys and fans has been quite positive.

The future looks bright, indeed. While the air reserve base and the racino play different roles in the region’s economic viability, both reflect the future.

That said, there isn’t much the Valley as a whole can do about the racino’s fortunes, but we certainly can raise our voices on behalf of the Youngstown Air Reserve Station.