If its Racino license is approved, an investment of $50M is expected to be shelled out so that Fairmount Park can offer up to a combined 900 slot machines and table games. No Stranger To Horse Racing. While the Fairmount Park deal is its first investment in a race track, FanDuel is no stranger to horse racing. Fairmount Park Racetrack will open for the 2020 racing season on Tuesday. The plan is to build a $50 million casino that would include tables, slot machines, electronic gaming and more.
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Some background:
Fairmount Park president says bill amendment could doom track (Post-Dispatch):
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/illi ... 8b37f.html
Lawmaker: Resolution needed on rift between casion, horse tracks (News Democrat)
http://www.bnd.com/2014/05/12/3204810/l ... -soon.html
State Rep. Bob Rita on with Charlie Brennan:
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http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2014/06/03/ ... ph-spiess/The recent legislative session ended with the latest amendment to the proposed bill failing to make it to the floor for a vote. This is a very complex issue as the debate encompasses the effects of tax revenues, the survival of horse racing in the St. Louis area, and the saturation of gambling in the metro. Recent proposals would allow all horse tracks in Illinois to install slot machines, with the exception of Fairmount Park. This would in effect be the death knell for the already struggling Fairmount. The argument in support of this proposal is that allowing Fairmount slot machines would take revenue from the Queen, which is responsible for 40% of East St. Louis's revenues.
Conversely, while arguing that excluding Fairmount is just simply not fair, backers of the race track argue that the track is responsible for 400 jobs directly and supports another 600 (trainers, vets, etc.). In addition to this, they also point to the importance of Fairmount to the Collinsville tourist industry in terms of hotels, restaurants, etc. and even local agriculture (food and hay for the horses, fertilizer for the farmers.)
Some alternate proposals that would allow Fairmount to install slot machines would require that the track's tax revenue be divided between Collinsville, East St. Louis, and Alton (for it's impact on the Argosy). One of these calls for Collinsville to receive only 10% of the revenue and for ESL and Alston to receive 45% each. A more sensible, in my opinion, proposal is one that would have Collinsville receive 50% and ESL and Alton 25% each.
As a Collinsvillian, I'm biased, but I think the closure of Fairmount Park would be a great loss for the entire region. Yes, Collinsville would feel the economic repercussions, but I think it would be an even greater cultural loss for Greater St. Louis. Perhaps I'm just nostalgic, but having a thoroughbred racetrack is a great asset to the region in terms of both entertainment and history. And on a personal note, I've had some great times at Fairmount Park and would much prefer going there over any casino. I would never go to Fairmount for the slot machines, but if those slot machines allow larger purses, which attracts better horses, that draw larger crowds and makes the whole horse racing experience better, then I'm all for it.
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