Update Of The Update: Foxwoods Back To South Philly?
Okay, look alive, because this is a little confusing: In the beginning Foxwoods was to be built down on Delaware Avenue in South Philly. But then nobody — from pols to neighbors — liked that. So sometime last year, Foxwoods began planning to build in Chinatown — specifically, in the old Strawbridge & Clothier building at 8th & Market. Pols — including Mayor Michael Nutter — at least acted like they liked that, until significant resistance started to manifest itself, which makes sense because putting a casino at 8th & Market is even dumber than putting one down near where you pay your cable bill and buy plywood. Now, Chris Brennan is reporting that the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is going to tell Foxwoods to go back to South Philly at those hearings we started telling you about yesterday. Foxwoods, for its part, seems to be okay with this, even though it remains to be seen how South Philly will feel about Foxwoods II: Electric Boogaloo. Especially now that, according to our source, they want to build a kind of “tent city” casino — shades of Sugarhouse here — as an interim facility before the real casino gets built in 2011. But then there’s the issue of funding for Foxwoods, which we were also talking about yesterday, and the monkey wrench that that could put in the works. No matter. The process moves onward, and according to our source who’s in Harrisburg right now:
PGCB lawyers recommend conditions [for the extension of Foxwoods' gaming license] as follows: Within 30 days of board extenstion, Foxwoods must provide plan for 1500 slots at its approved location; provide written monthly updates on financing on approved location; within six months provide a financing plan; within 3 months all architectural renderings, all documents related to construction of facility, including timeline; etc. In total, 10 recommendations, all of which state at “its approved location.” Last recommendation is negotiating with community groups.
Foxwoods is responding that they’re worried about the timeline that they “might be in default of. ” Doesn’t like the first month plan or the drawings for the facility. Doesn’t like timeline for permits and licenses- “We can’t control what the govt does.” These things, including mandated community negotiations, “puts an axe over our head.”
Which, frankly, is just where we like it. Will the perfect storm of the recession lending crisis, bureaucracy, anti-casino sentiment and the gaming industry’s own crookedness sully slots parlors in Philly the same dirty, screwed-up way they became a possibility in the first place? Hard to tell, but in the meantime, here’s another question: How many old ladies do you know that are so desperate to play the slots that they’ll do it in a tent?
Update: More from Harrisburg:
Gaming board member says he’ll revoke the license if they try to move; another said that they dont want to hear about phases and “want some sort of assurance that they’ll have a facility”.
Foxwoods says that it needs time to assess the situationto make a “quality competitive facility”
Commissioner reiterates says that we voted for what you proposed in 2006. ” you made a commitment to this board and to this coomonwealth and we”re going to hold your feet to the fire.
Commissioner asks you have six months, “are you going to do anything?”
Office of enforcement notes that Foxwoods lacks most basic permit at Columbus blvd. which is the zoning and use permit.
Commissioner asks whether based on original proposal they would be prohibited from getting
Chair: “Can’t reiterate enough the concern off the board ony discussion of relocating.
I cannot say it emphatically enough that if this petition is granted we expect that facility to be on Columbus blvd and in the way it was presented.”Any discussion of relocating “is a fools end”.
