As Job-Seekers Line Up, Racino Rounds the Turn
AUSTINTOWN, Ohio -- A host of familiar names posted on trailers, equipment and trucks punctuate the sprawling 190-acre construction site where Penn National Gaming Inc. is building its $125 million Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course complex.
Valley Electrical Consolidated of Girard, City Concrete of Youngstown, Kirila Contractors of Brookfield and Mike Coates Construction of Niles are among the 30 or so subcontractors at the site in Austintown working at a rapid clip to finish the race track, entertainment, and video slots complex, which is scheduled to open this fall.
“There are about 170 tradesmen working on the project right now,” says W. Randy Painter, project executive at Turner Construction Co., Cleveland, the general contractor. “The majority of the workers – between 80% and 90% – are from the local unions,” he says.
Painter was interviewed by The Business Journal for a story published in the June edition. On Monday construction continues at a rapid pace as hundreds of job seekers are lined up outside the Austintown Plaza where Penn National Gaming Inc. is holding the first of two job fairs. The racino is expected to employ 400 with 65% of the jobs full-time (READ STORY).
Meanwhile, 50 or so contractors have been hired throughout the course of the construction project, Painter says.
Turner Construction is no stranger to building these types of projects, he continues. “Our firm did the Kansas City Speedway for Penn Gaming and we’re doing another one in Dayton that’s similar to this, but it’s a trotter track and a little smaller facility.”
Once finished, Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course will offer a mile-long oval track for thoroughbred horse racing, 13 barns for the horses, a dormitory for jockeys and support staff, a shipping and test barn, and a 100,000-square-foot grandstand and entertainment complex.
The new racino sits on land east of state Route 46, west of state Route 11 and just south of the Interstate 80 and Route 46 interchange. Developers broke ground for the project Dec. 20, 2012.
On the afternoon of May 22, trucks hauling structural steel, aggregate, lumber and other materials moved in and out of the site as electricians, laborers, operating engineers and carpenters were hard at work on various segments of the large undertaking.
The main building – designed with a 1930s art deco façade but modern amenities inside – is a trademark of Penn National’s Hollywood Gaming projects, says the newly hired general manager of the venue, Mike Galle.
“A lot of our Hollywood properties have the 1930s art deco look, but definitely with a modern feel inside the building with all of our audio and video capabilities,” Galle relates.
Construction on the building didn’t miss a beat during the harsh winter, he says, because by that time much of the work was enclosed. “We’re still looking at the fall of 2014 opening, and later in the fall is when we’ll start our first race,” he says.
Races simulcast from tracks all across the country will be available the first day the racino is in business.
“There’ll be plenty of simulcast monitors throughout the racing side of the building,” Galle adds.
Some 850 video lottery terminals, or VLTs, also will be in operation. “We’ll start with 850 VLTs, but we have the ability to expand to 1,500 units depending on occupancy. We already have a plan put together should we have to expand quickly.”
Galle says the Hollywood complex has scheduled 100 days of horse racing, eight races per day, during the 2014-2015 season.
To meet that deadline, workers were busy performing both indoor and outdoor construction May 22.
Project manager Rick Collins the construction project will have used roughly 900 tons of structural steel when it’s finished. “The clubhouse level alone took 56 trucks of concrete,” he says.
The clubhouse level would feature video monitors that cover the walls, an enclosed grandstand and a sports bar, Collins says. The sports bar overlooks the main entrance floor where the VLTs will be placed.
A third level – the officials’ level – gives a clear view of the track and is where racing judges and race callers monitor each race.
“We’re working two shifts,” Collins says, noting that as many as 80 tradesmen are on site working Saturdays, and about 130 to 140 staff the day shift during the week. Another 30 to 40 work indoors and outdoors during the second shift.
Outside, equipment operators prepare the track, a process that includes putting down and leveling two layers of fabric and aggregate before topping it off with a third layer of sand. Collins says, “It’s a special mix of sand and clay used specifically for racetracks.”
Turner’s Painter reports the project has probably moved about a half-million cubic yards of soil to achieve the proper grade for the track and course layout. “All of it is taken from the site,” he says.
Meantime, at the northern end of the track, the frames of two stall barns were up and awaiting roof joists. “We started the barns about three weeks ago,” Painter notes. When finished, a row of 13 new barns will stretch along this section of the complex. Just to the west, workers were high atop a water tower constructed specifically to serve the racino, preparing to paint that structure.
Just across from the barns is a two-story dormitory under construction that jockeys and support staff will use, Painter says.
“We’re very excited about our location and proximity to the population base,” Hollywood Gaming general manager Galle says. “We’re right off Interstate 80.”
Galle also emphasizes that the community has shown a strong interest in the project and supported Penn National’s efforts this far. “The Mahoning Valley has been very welcoming to us,” he says. “The people have been very friendly and warm, and we’re proud to be a part of the community.”
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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