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Centaur's Valley View Downs receives license

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September 05, 2007

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Centaur Inc. received approval today from the Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission to build a one-mile harness track and gaming facility in northwestern Pennsylvania. Valley View Downs will be developed by the Indianapolis-based company on a 250-acre site in Lawrence County, just 55 miles from Pittsburgh.

�This license has been worth the wait and we�re excited about the prospects for economic vitality that this project will bring to the Western Pennsylvania region,� said Roderick J. Ratcliff, Centaur�s chairman and CEO.

Ratcliff said that the next step would be approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

�We can�t predict when we might receive the final approval but we�ll be ready to start building at such time as we are favored with a gaming license,� he added.

Ratcliff estimated the project cost at $428 million with an estimated annual payroll of $33 million. �This should create 1,500 construction jobs and another 1,000 full-time and part-time jobs when we�re operational, with more job opportunities as expansions occur,� he said.

When completed, Valley View Downs will have 150 live racing days on the one-mile racing oval and 363 days of simulcast.

�We expect this facility to generate more than $40 million for purses and breed development,� said Jeffrey M. Smith, CEO of Racing for Centaur.

Smith added that the backstretch area, when fully developed, will feature eight barns with stalls for 712 horses, as well as a paddock with 145 additional stalls and dormitory facilities for 100 horsemen. Parking for hundreds of horsemen and their trailers or vans will also be included.

Smith said the clubhouse and entertainment facility will spread across 250,000 square feet, with two main levels featuring restaurants, lounges, concession stands, an outdoor terrace, tiered indoor viewing areas and a race book �tele-theater� to view races simulcast from other venues. Landscaped, paved and lighted parking for thousands of cars, with valet parking at the covered clubhouse entrance, will be available.

In addition to the boost it will give to the horse breeding and racing economies and the new construction and staffing jobs created, the project will generate an estimated $162 million annually for the state and up to $16.6 million annually for Lawrence County.

�We plan to make this site a unique entertainment venue, designed from the ground up as a truly integrated racing/gaming facility,� Smith said, adding that he hopes the facility will attract more than 4 million visitors annually.

�We know there are about 4.7 million people over the age of 21 within the 100-mile radius and we feel confident that our project, as proposed, will become a destination site,� he added. (Centaur press release)

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