Bangor plans permanent complex

The Bangor, Maine City Council approved Penn National's project for a new $70 million, 1,500 slot-machine gaming complex.

According to bangornews.com, the permanent racino would replace the company's temporary facility, Hollywood Slots in Bangor, which opened in November. If all goes according to plan, the new complex, including a parking garage, restaurant and retail space, will open in 2008.

Penn's off-track betting operation, now operated out of the grandstand at city-owned Bangor Raceway, also would be housed in the new facility. Most of the land Penn National is arranging to buy is occupied by a Holiday Inn belonging to Mahaney Properties. Kevin Mahaney, son of the late Bangor businessman Larry Mahaney, owns Mahaney Properties.

Once the deal goes through, the inns and surrounding buildings will be razed to make way for Penn's project. Negotiations surrounding what has become a six-way deal have been going on for months behind closed doors.

Several of the details, however, did not become known until Friday, when the city posted Monday's council meeting agenda.

With construction is slated to begin next year, many of the provisions councilors will consider for Bangor Historic Track, the Penn National subsidiary at the helm of the racino project, hinge on the company's acquiring the land it needs by Dec. 31.

Because state law authorizing slot machines requires that facilities housing slots be located on city-owned land, Penn will convey the land on Main Street to the city, which in turn will lease it back to Penn.

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