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So Many to Thank as Shovels Turn at Racino Site
AUSTINTOWN, Ohio -- “This is a day when we celebrate the way we work together in the Mahoning County,” said U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan as he praised economic development, business, union and political leaders for their efforts that culminated in today’s groundbreaking for Penn National Gaming Inc.’s Hollywood at Mahoning Valley Race Course (READ STORY).
“This is a great day for our community,” Ryan reiterated, relating the groundbreaking to this morning’s press event at Youngstown State University where Siemens Corp. announced a $440 million in-kind grant to provide product lifecycle management software and training for YSU’s STEM College (READ STORY).
“We have built a reputation that the Mahoning Valley is a great place to do business,” said Ryan, “and we don’t have all of our eggs in one basket.”
The congressman paraphrased the mantra of basketball coaching great John Wooden: “There are no big things. There is only the logical accumulation of small things done very well,” he recited. “We’ve had a lot of very small things done very well and this day is the natural extension of all of us working together.”
Ryan’s remarks set the tone for what followed -- more than 30 minutes of praise for all those involved in securing the thoroughbred and video lottery terminal complex -- beginning with Austintown Township Trustee Jim Davis, described as the project’s “energizer bunny” by Penn National’s Eric Shippers.
Next up was Mahoning County Commissioner David Ditzler, formerly an Austintown Township trustee.
Ditzler's thank-you's were followed by state Reps. Bob Hagan and Ron Gerberry, who recalled the bipartisan legislative and political maneuverings that legalized video lottery terminals and enabled Penn National to seek the transfer of its racetrack licenses.
“It was real teamwork,” said Gerberry. “It’s one of the highlights of my legislative career.”
Through all the speakers’ remarks, two words dominated: “Thank you.”
Don Crane, president of the Western Reserve Building Trades Council, added Turner Construction of Cleveland, the project’s construction manager, to his accolades.
“They are one bang-up outfit,” Crane said. “They are top-notch and they have been the best since they landed here.”
Tim Wilmott, chief operating officer of Penn National Gaming, was last to the podium, adding to his list of credits Mark Munroe, a member of the Ohio Racing Commission and chairman of the Mahoning County Republican Party. Referencing the “twists and turns” the project took as the commission deliberated track seating and stable accommodations, Wilmott said, “We agreed to a solution that’s very acceptable to us and to the racing commission.”
The racino site -- at state Route 46, south of Interstate 80 and just west of Youngstown -- “couldn’t be better,” Wilmott said. “This is going to be a tremendous facility.”
By the end of 2014, Penn National will have invested $1.2 billion in Ohio including, he added, “$75 million for an address change, from Columbus to Austintown because we believe in this market.”
Wilmott was referring to the state’s fee for granting Penn National the right to transfer its existing thoroughbred license from its Beulah Park racetrack.
Earlier today a similar groundbreaking ceremony was held at the site in Dayton where Penn National is transferring its Toledo racetrack license and also building a racino.
Wilmott said 1,000 construction workers would be employed to build the Hollywood at Mahoning Valley Race Course. When it opens, some 1,000 direct and indirect jobs will result, he added.
“That’s going to have a big ripple effect in northeast Ohio,” he said. “You also have my commitment that we are going to do everything we can to purchase locally whenever possible.”
As Wilmott concluded his remarks, event organizers began herding the speakers and members of the audience to the groundbreaking site where shovels were turned in multiple stages -- enabling all those who had a hand in securing the project to turn some dirt.
MORE: Penn National Breaks Ground for Racino
Copyright The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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