I’m hearing a lot of folks bellyaching this morning about the unfortunate passage of Issue 3 last night, and rightfully so. I posted my thoughts on why this was a bad deal for Columbus, and it appears that the majority of Central Ohio agreed with me, as every single county in the middle of the state was against this issue.
That being said, I don’t think this is going to be the end of the world. I don’t think the Arena District is going to do a complete 180. In fact, I’d wager that the Arena District doesn’t even acknowledge the Casino’s existence. It’s going to be its own little thing on its own little island over there. I’m sure it will bring on a few new societal ills (gambling addiction) but I don’t think it will be nearly as bad as most people are making it out.
Anyway… here’s a photo of the “Hollywood Casino” in Tunica, MS. Same branding as what we’re getting in Columbus. Looks pretty nice, eh? I bet everyone can’t wait to get inside of this place:
The passing of both this issue and Issue 2 left me feeling really sad for Ohio this morning but they won so now we have to figure out how to move forward. I agree that this casino won’t be the end of Columbus; but boy o boy is that one ugly phalic piece of signage…
I just want to know now that central Ohio did not want the Casino are going to be standing with their hand out for the money it will bring in.
Bob, I believe the amendment specifies that all 88 counties will benefit evenly from the distribution of the tax revenue brought in from the 4 Casinos. I’m not sure who you’re referring to with the “hand out” comment (City of Columbus? Franklin County? Local programs dedicated to assisting with gambling addiction? “The Man”?) but it sounds like the money will be divided equally throughout the state.
I’m wondering why the casino is going to be in the Arena District in the first place. It seems like it would have made more sense to put it South of Columbus near one of the two horse tracks. The land is available but it’s still close enough to the population center. It seems that what downtown Columbus needs to take the next step is an influx of residents, retail, and a good quality grocery store. I’m guessing that the gamblers at the casino and the hockey fans will largely avoid even seeing each other on a regular basis. As Walker said, it’s not the end of the world but it definately could be better.
I agree that the Scioto Downs location makes more sense… but I guess Penn struck a deal with Plaza Properties for the Arena District site. It’s a shame too, because there was originally a 1000+ residential neighborhood development planned for that 22-acre site after cleanup. I can’t imagine the Casino will take up all 22 acres, but I don’t envision additional residential development being on the drawing board to fill the rest of it in.
Looks pretty lame. I’d rather have a neighborhood.
Walker, actually the money is not divided exactly evenly. Each county gets a share proportional to their population, half of which goes to the largest city in the county. But another set-aside pot of money goes directly to the 4 host cities, so Columbus will get more than Dayton, for example.
I’ve been to Hollywood Casino (back when it was called Argosy) in Indiana. It’s fine. It’s modern, has vegas-style amenities and a pretty cool (if crowded) poker room. It doesn’t look anything like that picture you posted of the Tunica casino. I am not too worried about how it will fit in the Arena district. If I remember right, the site they’ve selected is 3 or 4 blocks west of the ballpark anyway, so it’s not like it’ll be plunked right next door to the Arena or anything. You won’t even see it if you’re on High, Front or Neil…
I wasn’t for Issue 3, but I hardly think it’s the end of the world for Columbus or the Arena District.
Thanks for the clarification on the financial distribution. I guess I should have said that the money would be distributed “fairly” and not “evenly”.
I am hoping that the final product in Columbus is something that we can all be proud of. But I’m going to remain skeptical until we start to see some renderings and real details.