Let the debate begin. A decade after the Elmira Raceway brouhaha, Woolwich is getting another kick at the gaming can.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) is looking at the possibility of a new casino in an area that encompasses the township. Officials from the government agency will be making a pitch to council Nov. 20.
Woolwich is part of a newly-created gaming zone, which also includes Kitchener, Waterloo, Wilmot Township and parts of Cambridge and Wellington County. A new casino is part of OLG’s modernization plan, with the agency seeking municipalities willing to host a new facility. In this area, Cambridge council has said no to the idea, but Woolwich is open to hearing more, says the mayor.
“We’re not going to just say no. We’re going to listen and see what the public thinks,” Todd Cowan said in an interview Wednesday.
He expects the debate to be lively, but different from what happened more than a decade ago when council discussed the prospect of slot machines at the Elmira Raceway. Then, little was known about the impact of introducing gaming into the mix, with opponents speculating about rampant crime and debauchery. As none of that happened, with communities instead enjoying large revenues with no downside, those previous arguments don’t apply, said Cowan.
When the council of the day ultimately rejected the raceway’s bid for slots in Elmira and a second proposal to move to Breslau, the Woolwich Agricultural Society closed the track and moved a few kilometres away to Elora in Centre Wellington Township, where the slots facility has generated more than $16 million for the community since opening in 2003.
In his time as mayor, Cowan said he’s heard many people express regret about losing the facility, and the revenue that would help fund a growing infrastructure deficit.
“We’re not going to say no, because I heard a lot on the campaign trail that we shouldn’t have gotten rid of the slots,” he said of council’s decision, following a closed-door meeting with OLG officials, to put the idea to the community.
Along with a presentation by OLG at the Nov. 20 council meeting, the public will have a chance to provide input on what it hears.
Those who attend can expect a 20-minute presentation about the OLG’s modernization plan and its bid to bring gaming opportunities closer to customers, said OLG spokesperson Tony Bitonti.
The agency wants to hear from municipalities before going ahead with any new facilities, looking to locate in spots where the public is onside, he added.
“We want the community to be receptive. We won’t go where we’re not welcomed.”
Some municipalities, like Cambridge, are not interested in hosting a casino. Some have people for and against the idea coming out to meetings.
“We’ve had mixed receptions all over the place,” he said, noting public input is part of the process. “This is the time for people to talk to this issue.”
The desire for input is what the township scheduled a public meeting for the same night as OLG’s presentation, said chief administrative officer David Brenneman.
“We decided to start with public input consultations that same evening,” he explained, adding that while there have been discussions with the agency, no decisions have been made.
The process is in the preliminary stages only.
With its new gaming plan, OLG will first look for receptive municipalities before turning to the private sector for proposals on new facilities in those locations, said Bitonti. Later this fall, the agency will be accepting applications from qualified gaming operators who would like to be part of the process. Once an operator is pre-qualified it can submit formally when requests for proposals go out in the winter.
The pre-qualifying stage ensures only suitable candidates submit proposals, he explained. That would include international companies, including the likes Las Vegas stalwarts MGM and Caesars, as well as Canadian operations such as Great Canadian Gaming, a BC-based company that currently operates tracks/slots in Barrie and Flamborough.
“I believe there will be a lot of interest in our properties.”
Once the RFPs are accepted and sound business plans picked, it would be up to the private companies to acquire locations, obtain municipal clearances, build the facilities and run them, under the guidelines set by OLG, said Bitonti.
It’s very early on, but Breslau would seem the logical spot for any casino bid in Woolwich, said Cowan, pointing to its proximity to Kitchener, Guelph and Cambridge, and back-on-the-agenda plans for Highway 7.
There are no proposals to the effect right now, but the township will have to weigh options and likelihoods as the process gets rolling, the better to make a decision. “We’re trying to gauge the public temperature on this one,” he said of the public meeting that will get things going.
