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| February 17, 2010 While Cleveland is considering opening a temporary casino at a downtown Higbee building until a permanent casino is built, Cincinnati does not intend to open an interim casino, city officials said Friday. Rock Ventures, the umbrella company developing casinos in both cities, plans to buy 20 acres at Broadway Commons by April to develop the state’s first permanent Downtown casinoby April, company President Matt Cullen said Friday. That’s about a month before state lawmakers must approve enabling legislation to keep voter-approved casinos moving forward at four sites, including two owned by Penn National Gaming. Cincinnati officials say they are pushing ahead to open the casino in mid-2012, with groundbreaking for construction planned for this November. Cleveland’s voter-approved casino site adjoins the old Higbee building, so Rock Ventures is talking to city officials about opening a temporary casino there, Cullen said. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson has called it “a great idea.” Jennifer Kulczycki, spokeswoman for Dan Gilbert, said the temporary casino could operate until a permanent casino opens in Cleveland in 2013. Gilbert is owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Quicken Loans and Rock Ventures. Cincinnati City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr., City Hall lobbyist Chip Gerhardt and about a dozen local business and neighborhood leaders met Monday with Cullen, president and chief operating officer of Rock Ventures, on Monday. Cullen said Dohoney “did a good job putting forth his expectations – that we will be the first (permanent) casino to open in Ohio. It was a very open discussion.” All agree they want Cincinnati to build Ohio’s first permanent casino, according to Meg Olberding, a city spokeswoman. “We’re all focused on the permanent location and working on that,” Olberding said. Cullen said he and other aides met earlier Monday with Doherty and about 20 other city officials from the city’s public safety and public works departments. One concern, Cullen said, is replacing an old wood storm and sanitary combined sewer line below the site. Dohoney and Cullen later met with various local groups like 3CDC, Downtown Cincinnati Inc., the Convention & Visitors Bureau and representatives from Mount Adams, Pendleton and Over-the-Rhine. Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Quicken Loans and Rock Ventures, sent Cullen to speak to Dohoney and the local officials, according to his spokeswoman, Jennifer Kulczycki. Broadway Commons is on the edge of Downtown between Gilbert Avenue and Reading Road. Dan Gilbert has said he’s considering a 300,000-square-foot casino, with two or three stories. Cullen said Rock Ventures is likely to finalize its purchase of Broadway Commons by April. “We’re working toward a spring date,’’ Kulczycki said. “Negotiations on the land are going fine,” Kulczycki said. Robert Chavez, owner of Chavez Properties, which owns the approved casino land at Broadway Commons, did not return a message. Keary McCarthy, a spokesman for Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish, said that legislation is being written. Amanda Wurst, spokeswoman for Gov. Ted Strickland, said that the governor would not oppose a temporary casino as long as the structure is at the location approved by Ohio voters and supported by that community. Cullen said Rock Ventures has not considered a temporary casino on the Cincinnati site because there are no existing structures it can use at Broadway Commons and an interim casino might slow down the permit process for the permanent one. In November, Ohio voters approved construction of four casinos in Ohio. The other sites, in Columbus and Toledo, are being developed by Penn National Gaming, which owns Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Ind. On May 4, there will be a new statewide ballot issue asking voters to approve moving Columbus’ casino location from the downtown Arena District to a vacant factory Delphi auto plant on the city’s West Side. Penn National Gaming has no plans to open a temporary casino in either Columbus or Toledo. They are focused on building the two casinos as quickly as possible and opening them in the latter part of 2012, according to Bob Tenenbaum, a spokesman for Penn. Conrad Thiede, communications officer for the Downtown Residents Council, said the group would appoint one of its board members in April to a casino advisory group being put together by the city. The council hasn’t taken a position on the casino, as it did in favor of the proposed streetcar, but will want to have input on issues including parking, dislocation of current residents and the casino’s size, Thiede said. The state legislature must approve gambling regulations by May, to be enforced by the Ohio Casino Control Commission. On Friday, Wurst said the governor won’t make the appointments until the General Assembly agrees on the enabling legislation. Rock Ventures is the umbrella entity formed to provide operational coordination, guidance and integration for Dan Gilbert’s portfolio of companies and investments. Gilbert’s Rock Ventures umbrella company includes Quicken Loans, a mortgage lender, and the Cleveland Cavaliers professional basketball team. Rock Ventures officials also said their next steps include: putting together a team of architects, designers and engineers by spring; finding and announcing the operator who will run the casino; and possibly naming minority investors. |
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