Province Has Offered Fort Erie A "Solution" To Keep Fort Erie Open Next Year
Race track discussions ongoing
Posted By RAY SPITERI and JENNIFER PELLEGRINI
The province has offered what MPP Kim Craitor is calling a solution to keep the struggling Fort Erie Race Track open next year.
“It’s just a matter of the details being worked out,” Craitor said late Friday afternoon.
He received a call from Premier Dalton McGuinty’s office yesterday morning, outlining steps the province is willing to take to maintain the viability of the track.
“The people wanted a message of confidence. They now have it. They now know (things are) going forward.”
Exactly how things are moving forward is not yet clear. Neither Craitor nor Mayor Doug Martin, who received a similar call, would elaborate on the plan brought forward.
But Martin said he felt more optimistic about the future of the 110-year-old border oval after speaking to officials.
“(The town) received a call today from the provincial government, which I would summarize as being a very positive phone call,” said Martin. “I felt we were losing and I feel much more positive today. They’re working very hard on trying to find a way of helping us here in Fort Erie.”
Track owner Nordic Gaming – which has a $300-million revitalization project on the table – has called on the province to provide a larger share of revenue from the slots side of the track facility for the next two seasons to bolster race purses and help offset operating costs while the plan is in development.
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There is no doubt that Fort Erie Race Track is going to stay open next year, the doubt was, and still is, how many days are they to run and this is based on how much purse account will be available. Fort Erie has until Halloween to submit their race dates for next year.
I still don't see the government giving funds to an actual private owner (Nordic), but I do see the government giving a bigger cut from the slot winnings to go directly to purse increases, and possibly (thought I disagree with this too) to do race track upgrades.
I still don't see this $300 million project as being feasible even if Nordic Gaming was sincere in putting that kind of money into it (I would be shocked if Nordic intended to put one dime of their money into the project).
I do believe strongly that the original reason for slots is getting lost, and the race track needs to remain economically viable for the horsemen, so a bigger cut is essential not just for the next two years but the next 50 years, no matter who owns Fort Erie in the near future or beyond.
More opinion found here
I wonder if the government is really buying into Nordic's so called plan.
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NFL PICKS FOR WEEK 7
Slumping badly, I went 0-2-1 last week to bring me down to 500 after a great start.
I'm now 8-8-2 on the year.
My picks:
Buffalo getting 3 at home to Baltimore
Washington to blow out Arizona by more than 8 and a half.
The NY Jets to cover against Cincinnati getting 6 and a half.
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