The city could be holding all the aces when it comes to attracting a casino developer to Westfield.
Yesterday, The Westfield News was first to report details about discussions between a city property owner, Mayor Daniel M. Knapik, and Penn National Gaming, a national Hollywood-themed regional casino operator. Penn National is talking with the mayor and the owner of 280 acres of land near the Massachusetts Turnpike.
City Advancement Officer Jeffrey Daley said the property is owned by Equity Industrial Partners, a company out of Needham.
If a deal is struck, voters will have the opportunity to weigh-in on the topic with a referendum question, which could be on a ballot in the near future, but not this year.
“This year is too soon,” Knapik said about the possibility of a vote this fall.
Penn National could invest $500-$750 million in the city with a casino, including a human resources department headquartered downtown.
Knapik said a casino could greatly reduce property taxes to the rest of the city and attract retailers, hotels, a movie theater and more.
He added that as part of negotiations, he is making it clear that the city will not foot the bill for an access point to the casino.
In addition to the tax boon, Knapik said a casino would use city utilities, which could lower costs to residents.
“They would be on the sewer line, which would stabilize our sewer rate,” Knapik said.
The easy access to utilities is a major plus for the operator, who has reportedly also been in talks with Springfield.
“Our site is the only one with these utilities,” Knapik said, noting that the town of Palmer, which has long been a proponent of a casino, has “serious problems” with access to utilities.
Knapik said the operator has discussed becoming the city’s partner in downtown development, something Knapik said is badly needed, even with the improvements already made and under construction along the Elm Street corridor.
“I’m 45 this year, and I’m the last generation of people who remember a vital downtown,” Knapik said, recalling buying shoes at Moriarty’s, suits at Eaton’s and jeans at Fines.
He said Westfield isn’t the same place, in many ways, as it was then.
“We have had a serious blight in downtown Westfield,” he said. “This isn’t the same city it was 30 years ago – it’s a lot bigger.”
Knapik said if a deal is signed, he expects a big push from the operator to encourage residents to vote favorably.
“If a deal is signed there will be an enormous effort by the operator, and by opponents,” Knapik said.
Penn National Gaming owns, operates or has ownership interests in gaming and racing facilities with a focus on slot machine entertainment. The Company presently operates 26 facilities in 19 jurisdictions, including Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia, and Ontario. In aggregate, Penn National’s operated facilities feature approximately 29,700 gaming machines, approximately 665 table games, 2,400 hotel rooms and 1.2 million square feet of gaming floor space. With over 16,500 employees, and revenues exceeding $2.5 billion, Penn National Gaming is the third largest US gaming company.
Penn National Gaming started in 1971 as a single horseracing venue and expanded into one of the nation’s largest gaming companies, offering everything from slot machines to table games, poker, thoroughbred racing, restaurants, live entertainment and even NASCAR.
Karen Schwartzman, spokesperson for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, said the state can have up to three casinos, one each in western, central and eastern Massachusetts.
“There could be one in western Mass. if the applicant meets all criteria, receives approval of voters and all is in order to be licensed,” Schwartzman said.
Schwartzman said the commission has discussed calling for request for proposals (RFP) from potential casino developers.
“We’ve talked about putting out RFPs in six to nine months,” she said.
