Dartmouth racino would include concert venue
Posted Mar 21, 2011 12:50:42 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Details are emerging about a proposal to bring horse racing back to metro Halifax.
The $45-million combination racetrack and casino known in most places as a “racino” would be funded privately and located in Dartmouth.
Plans for the facility at Dartmouth Crossing were revealed at the recent Atlantic Harness Racing Symposium. The proposal includes a casino, hotel, destination retail and a five-eights mile track with the center field acting as a permanent concert site for HRM.
The company that wants to build it, Celebration Gaming, is not asking the government for any money. A different company, Great Canadian Gaming, runs the existing Halifax casino, and has the right to match Celebration’s offer.
HRM has not had horse racing since Sackville Downs closed in the mid-1980s.
What it could come down to is the Nova Scotia government’s approval. The Dexter government is due to release its new gaming strategy later this month. The role of racinos in the province’s gambling plan has yet to be made clear.
