Easy Basil on the laughing stock comments as Canada Games visitors are going to be so "in awe" with the new $40,000,000.00 Wellness Centre building that they will never notice the old grandstand building. Call me crazy but didn't the Province just give the Town of Summerside about $5,000,000.00 of PEI taxpayers money for the Wellness Centre to be used for the Canada Games so why didn't they put it into the grandstands if they felt it was in that bad of shape?? I love harness racing... I've been involved as an horse owner and a breeder for years and I think it’s prudent for Government to look at what's best for the whole industry before throwing a bunch more money into a new Grandstand. If the report says one track then we should all work together to make the industry work. Not just build a new grandstand because Basil is going to "threaten" us like a Big Bully... on the other hand if I had Basil chasing me down I'd throw in a Full Casino, Dog Track and maybe 50,000 seat Concert Venue... and why not Basil it's only taxpayers money!!!
Summerside worries raceway could close
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
CBC News
The mayor of P.E.I.'s second city is calling for an emergency meeting with the area's MLAs to find out what the province's plans are for the Summerside Raceway.
The grandstand at the harness-racing venue is in hard shape, Summerside Mayor Basil Stewart said, and in less than a year the Canada Games are due to open at Credit Union Place, the sports complex right next door. Other members of city council share his concern.
"The opening venue as it stands right now will be that dilapidated, leaking building that's falling into the ground," Coun. Brent Gallant said.
"Prince Edward Island will be the laughing stocks of the Canada Games to have hosted such an event with a facility such as that."
The province has been spending big money to build and renovate facilities for the Games, but there is no word yet on any capital spending for the Summerside Raceway. That has led to bigger worries for council, with rumours abounding that the province's new gambling strategy, currently being written, will seek to close down the raceway as a competitive harness-racing track and downgrade it to a training facility.
"If there's a suggestion at the end of the day from that, that this racetrack in Summerside be downgraded from racetrack to a training centre, there will be a blistering fight about it, I'll tell you that. And I'll be right out there in the front of it," Stewart said.
Stewart is resting his hopes that that won't happen on provincial Treasurer Wes Sheridan, the minister responsible for the gambling strategy, who's also the MLA for Kensington-Malpeque, just to the northeast of Summerside.
"Wes is going to make it happen," Stewart said.
Sheridan confirmed a decision on the grandstand is on hold until the gambling strategy is released, but he denied there has been talk about downgrading the Summerside Raceway.
"That hasn't been on the table whatsoever," he said. "In the last nine months of discussions, we haven't even looked at that possibility."
Sheridan said he hopes to have the gambling strategy ready for cabinet approval in the next couple of weeks, and after that he'll turn his attention to the Summerside Raceway's grandstand.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
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