Mike Faher
mfaher@tribdem.com
—
Plans for a horse-racing track and casino in Greater Johnstown were dealt a blow Friday, at least for the short term.
Supporters had hoped that the Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission would make a racetrack license available to all bidders, including a company that’s been eyeing the Johnstown area for a $200 million development.
But the commission instead set up a complicated process that, at least for now, keeps that license rooted in Lawrence County and relies on a bankruptcy court – not an open-bidding process – to find a new developer in that area.
The decision frustrated state Sen. John Wozniak, a Johnstown Democrat who has been trying to lure a racetrack and/or casino license to this region.
“The commission’s action (Friday) unfortunately rewards a failed project and unnecessarily delays property-tax relief and job creation efforts,” Wozniak said.
But an attorney for the racing commission said officials were forced to work within the confines of a bankruptcy.
“This is the most expedient and efficient way to move this forward,” said Brook Duer, chief counsel for the state Department of Agriculture, which oversees the racing commission.
At issue is the racing license that had been granted to Centaur Inc. – operating as Valley View Downs L.P. – to open a racetrack in the New Castle area of Lawrence County.
Centaur is bankrupt and already had received one extension from the state in an effort to develop that facility. The company had sought a further, two-year extension, and that’s the matter that was taken up by the racing commission Friday morning in Harrisburg.
Wozniak had been pushing for the state to deny that extension, arguing that Centaur has had plenty of time to get the project moving.
Also, a company called American Harness Tracks Inc. announced last month that it was pursuing a major “racino” development in Greater Johns-town. Executive Daryl Price had outlined plans including a racetrack, casino and an equine medical center along with a water park, convention center and a wedding complex.
All that is contingent, however, on obtaining the necessary licenses. And Friday’s hearing on Centaur’s status was deemed a potential stepping stone toward that goal.
But the Harness Racing Commission did not simply terminate Centaur’s license, which would have paved the way for an open bidding process that could have included American Harness Tracks.
Instead, the commission laid out a three-step process:
n First, Centaur has until Oct. 5 to notify the state that it has received “at least one written bid” from investors looking to buy the bankrupt company’s assets.
n There likely will be more than one bidder, and it will then be up to the bankruptcy court to declare a winner. That entity then has until Dec. 31 to file a preliminary application with the state to obtain the Valley View Downs license.
n After that, the commission will meet with that bidder to hash out the full application and review process for a racing license.
The company or investor group that makes it through that process will be left with the same racetrack license Centaur now has. And that license cannot move geographically: It will be tied to the same Lawrence County locale and the same track design that’s currently on the books.
“The only license that is granted is to build a very specific track at that location, with that specific design,” Duer said, while noting that the license’s new owner could apply for permission to change the track’s design.
“In no instance could it be that they could change the location,” Duer added.
There are a few potential openings for a bidding process that could invite other developers with other plans into the mix.
If the October or December deadlines set forth in Friday’s order are not met, the racing commission has the right to simply revoke the license and, in effect, start over.
“Potentially, the track license could go back into an application process where anyone could apply for it,” Duer said.
But there is no telling whether that might happen.
And Wozniak said the commission should have gotten the ball rolling Friday, avoiding any further delays.
“The proper course of action would have been to revoke the license and solicit new applications, permitting the facility to be moved to another location in the state,” Wozniak said.
“There are developers not tied to that location who are ready, willing and able to build, create jobs and speed tax relief.”
