Officials seek eased deadlines for Western Pa. casino, racetrack
HARRISBURG (AP) – Officials are asking the state Harness Racing Commission to ease the timetable for a Western Pennsylvania gambling facility.
The Ellwood City Ledger reports Endeka Entertainment officials will make the request during a meeting in Harrisburg Thursday.
The commission has imposed a deadline that groundbreaking on Lawrence Downs in Mahoning must begin by October 2016. Other deadlines require plans for the facility to be available by early next year and that racing begins in 2017.
Failure to meet the deadlines could result in the commission revoking Endeka’s harness racing license. An Endeka spokesman says the October groundbreaking is an impossible target.
Preliminary plans for Lawrence Downs include the state’s only one-mile harness racing track and a casino. Officials hope the facility stimulates development in the area.