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| January 20, 2010 Penn National Gaming Inc. wants to shift its Columbus casino plans from the voter-approved location in the Arena District to the site of a former auto-parts plant on the West Side. An announcement by the company is expected this morning in the Hilltop, where support has been far from unanimous but where neighborhood and business leaders mounted a strong campaign to lure the development as an economic spark. The former Delphi auto-parts plant, which closed in 2007, includes 114 acres at W. Broad Street and Georgesville Road, east of I-270. Westland Mall, located just to its west, also was considered as a casino site. "We're very happy. We're all excited," said Judy Andrews, president of the Hilltop Business Association, which supported the development at either location. "I think it's going to be great." A Penn National official this morning confirmed the company's decision to move its development to Delphi. An announcement was taking place at 10:30 a.m. The land is still owned by Delphi Corp. of Troy, Mich. Delphi has indicated it wants to sell the property. Pennsylvania-based Penn National said on Dec. 31 that it would consider sites outside the Arena District, which was included in a constitutional amendment approved statewide last fall but rejected in Columbus and central Ohio. A new location requires another statewide vote, which Penn National and local supporters want to schedule as part of Ohio's May 4 primary election. State lawmakers have said they are prepared to move legislation quickly that would replace Arena District land-parcel numbers with those of a new site. A proposed amendment would require three-fifths approval in the legislature to make the ballot. There's also a Feb. 3 deadline for legislative passage. If Ohio voters reject a Columbus-specific amendment, Penn National would go back to its plans in the Arena District. The company completed purchase of 24 acres west of Nationwide Arena and Huntington Park on Friday. "I applaud them for trying to right a wrong," said Ellen Weibel, co-chairwoman of Stand Up Columbus and an Arena District resident. "They meant it, they really meant it." Stand Up Columbus was created to push Penn National to relocate the casino. Mike Curtin, associate publisher emeritus for The Dispatch, also is a co-chairman. Capitol Square, the real-estate arm of The Dispatch Printing Company, owns 20 percent of the Arena District development. A Columbus casino, at either location, is scheduled to open by the end of 2012. Former Franklin County Commissioner Dewey Stokes, another Stand Up Columbus co-chairman who pushed for either West Side site, said he thinks redevelopment at Delphi offers the most potential for an area that has seen its major employers leave. A successful casino not only will bring thousands of jobs, he said, but could touch off further revitalization along the W. Broad corridor. "It could get Westland back in the shopping market," Stokes said. Penn National officially considered seven alternate sites suggested by Mayor Michael B. Coleman, neighborhood groups and property owners. But company officials had said they were inundated with potential casino locations offered up across a city and county that rejected Ohio's pro-gambling ballot measure last fall. Groups on the West and South sides, though, voted this month to endorse a casino development. Coleman, City Council President Michael C. Mentel and Columbus business leaders feared that an Arena District casino would change the character of the carefully planned area and hurt restaurants and nightspots. Franklin Township trustees, the only West Side-area group to refuse an endorsement, reversed course on Friday after assurances that Columbus would discuss sharing casino taxes. |
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