THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 17, 1995 TAG: 9508170531
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVID M. POOLE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
The Virginia Racing Commission on Wednesday selected the site of the state's first legalized betting parlor: a defunct supermarket in Chesapeake.
The old Earl's grocery - located at the intersection of South Military and George Washington highways - will be renovated to provide off-track wagering on horse races simulcast from tracks around the nation.
The gambling parlor is expected to open in the next 90 days.
No public hearing is scheduled. Chesapeake has determined that off-track betting - which zoning officials have classified as ``indoor recreation'' - is a permitted use under the building's existing zoning classification.
The Chesapeake facility is expected to be the first of possibly four off-track parlors in Hampton Roads.
An Ohio company that is building a horse track in New Kent County has indicated that it would seek licenses for a total of six remote wagering sites around the state.
Two of those potential parlors are in Virginia Beach and one is in Hampton. No specific site in Virginia Beach has been identified.
The Racing Commission's award of the Chesapeake license means that Stansley Management Corp. has 12 months to stage live horse racing at Colonial Downs, its planned track in New Kent between Richmond and Norfolk.
Stansley Management officials said construction at the New Kent site has been delayed by a lawsuit challenging the track's license.
Still, Stansley Management lawyer James L. Weinberg assured the Racing Commission that the New Kent track would host its maiden event within the next year.
Weinberg said the track would be ready for a ``fairgrounds'' season with tents serving as a temporary pavilion. He would not say, however, how long the season would last.
Also Wednesday, Stansley Management trotted out a heavy-hitter in hopes of erasing doubts about the financial viability of the state's first licensed track. Jeffrey P. Jacobs, whose family owns the Cleveland Indians baseball team, told the Virginia Racing Commission that he has committed at least $1 million to Colonial Downs.
The Commission - frustrated by delays in the track's development - appeared impressed by Jacobs' sports pedigree.
Jacobs, whose investments range from urban redevelopment in Cleveland to a gambling casino in Denver, said he may be willing to underwrite a quarter of the $37 million track.
Weinberg said Jacob's investment would ``solidify an already solid financing plan.''
Stansley Management - which beat four competitors last fall - has proposed financing the Colonial Downs track with $8.9 million in cash and $22 million in bonded debt. The Chesapeake Corp. is donating 345 acres along Interstate 64.
Weinberg declined to answer specific questions about finances, saying he would file a complete report in time for the commission's next meeting in September.
KEYWORDS: HORSE RACING RACE TRACKS OFF-TRACK BETTING by CNB