The City of New Orleans is hopefully on its way toward gaining some needed tax revenue to help aid in the seemingly endless reconstruction process following the havoc of Hurricane Katrina. Churchill Downs Incorporated has announced they are on track once again to begin construction of a casino slots gaming facility that was originally scheduled to begin in September 2005, just prior to the landfall of Hurricane Katrina.

Due to extensive damage of Churchill Downs' Fair Grounds Racetrack and many of the Fair Grounds off-track betting, pari-mutuel and video poker facilities, construction of the 30,000 square foot, 700-slot machine parlor was understandably delayed. Following Katrina, the immediate priorities for Churchill Downs was to relocate employees and help them get back on their feet, as well as repair Fair Grounds and all of the companies off-track betting sites in the New Orleans area. With repairs now finished, Churchill Downs Executive VP, Steve Sexton, has confirmed the company has begun giving full attention to getting the slots facility built.

When all is said and done, the finished slots parlor will be located in a permanent building immediately adjacent to the Fair Grounds racetrack. The project, which will begin construction this summer, has already been green-lighted  by New Orleans officials, and is scheduled for completion by late fall next year. Until that time, however, Fair Grounds is seeking to build a temporary slots facility in their on-site simulcast wagering parlor. Their proposal, which is still subject to approval by the New Orleans City Council and City Planning Commission, is to renovate the first floor of the Fair Grounds wagering parlor and install 250 slot machines.

Fair Grounds President and GM, Rancy Soth, said the temporary slots parlor makes good sense. Not only will it speed up the flow of badly needed tax revenue going to the City of New Orleans, a smaller slots parlor will give Fair Grounds management an opportunity to learn the finer points of operating a casino slots facility. Their experiences can, in turn, be used to optimize the efficiency of the larger, permanent facility. Pending approval of the temporary site, renovations to the current wagering parlor would begin this spring with a completion date of October, 2007.