AGLC approved Century Casino’s racing track
The Century Mile Racing Entertainment Centre will be just north of the Edmonton International Airport Road and is set to open in late 2018.
Canada.- The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC) has authorised the Century Mile Racing Entertainment Centre, Century Casino has announced. Right by the Edmonton International Airport, a US$37.5 million complex is set to open as horse racing at Northlands is about to come to a close.
The facility will be north of the Airport Road and west of the RedTail Landing golf course and will be “about 50 percent larger than the one in Calgary,” as Paul Ryneveld with Century Casinos announced last year. “It’s basically going to be modelled after our Century Downs Racetrack and Casino in Calgary,” he added.
The racing track will be a mile long and will have stabling for 800 horses. Also, the facility is expected to have at least two floors but a third one is also possible. The company is currently focused on securing finances for the project as it has received AGLC’s approval for the complex that it’s expected to be constructed in about 15 months. The plan is to open the track late in 2018 and racing at Northlands will continue until then.
The track will be located nearly 10 kilometres south of the Edmonton city limits and its location means another entry point will be needed for the entire airport property according to City of Leduc Mayor Greg Krischke: “I think it’s fair to say that airport has done an awful lot to mitigate any access-egress into the airport, and to the mall and now this race track,” he said. “But anytime you only have one entrance in and one entrance out, it has the potential to create negative situations.”
He also highlighted the need of work getting done in the region to develop its growth, as both Leduc County and the city, as well as the airport’s authority, and the City of Edmonton are working together on the overall interchange project: “All agree that it is needed infrastructure to help economic development in this region.”
The cost of detailed engineering is nearly US$2.6 million. Mayor Krischke said the province’s share of US$900 thousand can be found within Alberta Transportation’s budget, even though the project wasn’t specifically named in the provincial budget that was released March 16.
