RATON, N.M. -Construction of a $50 million casino and horse racing track in Raton, N.M., will begin in coming weeks after the New Mexico Racing Commission approved the proposal, the city manager says.
The first phase including an interim casino could open by fall with the full complex and horse racing scheduled to begin a year from now in the summer of 2010.
Full construction is set to take 12 to 18 months and employ 100 workers. Other plans call for about $75 million to $100 million to be spent on a hotel, truck stop, RV park, rodeo and equestrian center.
Raton was home to New Mexico's first racetrack, La Mesa Park, which opened in 1946 and closed in 1992. The town pushed for a replacement track and casino as part of its economic development efforts.
The project owner, Horse Racing at Raton, plans a formal groundbreaking ceremony in June.
The complex still needs to attain a license from the New Mexico Gaming Control Board but the process is under way and approval is expected in coming months.
The racing commission's vote reaffirmed its August decision to return racing
to Raton.
Raton, a town of 8,000 people at the Colorado-New Mexico border, will get New Mexico's sixth "racino," a term used for a dual horse racetrack and casino. Raton is about 100 miles south of Pueblo.
Raton Mayor Joe F. Apache issued a statement applauding the racing commission's choice of Raton as the best location to expand New Mexico racing industry.
“This project is a huge part of the economic future of this region and something we are really looking forward to,” Apache said.
Once opened, the complex will employ more than 300 full- and part-time workers, becoming the single largest employer in Colfax County, city officials say.
Raton City Manager P.J. Mileta said the city expects tourism traffic to increase from a five-state region covering Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas.
The complex will be the only other racetrack within 225 miles of Raton, he said. The closest casinos for Southeastern Colorado gamblers are in Cripple Creek and the Denver area's Black Hawk-Central City.
The complex's impact will extend into Southern Colorado, Mileta said.
"This will be a huge impact to northeastern New Mexico and Southeastern Colorado," Mileta said. "It's reviving an industry that is far-reaching. It puts Raton back in the center of that five-state hub."
Under gaming compacts with New Mexico's Native American tribes, only six racinos are allowed in New Mexico, according to Raton officials.
The Raton project had been slowed by various reviews by both the New Mexico Gaming Control Board and the racing commission, Mileta said.
The project now appears firmly on track, he said. The racing commission has scheduled its June meeting in Raton with plans focused on a formal groundbreaking ceremony, Mileta said.
"At least they can start construction and - hopefully, before they are ready to open the simulcast and the slot machines and the interim casino - they will have their gaming license," Mileta said.
The new racetrack will be built on a 350-acre parcel of land sold to the company for $1 as an economic catalyst for the project.
The racetrack will be a 1-mile oval with a 7-furlong chute and a 550-yard quarter horse track.
According to the company's Web site, the casino area will operate every day of the year, 16 to 18 hours daily and will feature 600 slot and video gaming machines.
The theme of horse racing will be an integral part of the casino floor and, if permissible, the facility will have TV screens dedicated to racing located throughout the casino floor.
Mileta said that the Raton City Commission is scheduled to proclaim the month of June “Mine That Bird” month in honor of the Kentucky Derby winner’s connection to the city.
Mine That Bird trainer Chip Wooley was born in Raton and started his horse racing career at La Mesa Park. He met Mine That Bird’s owner Mark Allen during a visit in Raton.