Officials at Southland Park greyhound racetrack and casino in West Memphis, Arkansas said work recently began on a .4 million casino renovation and expansion project. Southland President and General Manager Troy Keeping said, “Our business keeps growing, so we want to continue the expansion and transformation of Southland Park into the unquestioned premiere gaming destination in the Mid-South. This project will provide our guests with more space and allow us to add more of the best gaming machines on the market and another popular restaurant and entertainment spot within our complex.”
Located 10 minutes from downtown Memphis, Tennessee, construction at Southland is expected to be completed by the end of the year, adding 60 new jobs to Southland’s current 675 workers.
The project’s main feature will be a 41,000 square foot addition that will hold up to 500 new gaming machines, bringing Southland Park’s total capacity to more than 1,950 games. A 150-seat themed restaurant and sports bar will be added, as well as a new exterior, entrance and parking facilities.
The expansion will increase Southland’s taxes paid to the city, Crittenden County and the state by $3.7 million, for a total of $35.1 million per year. Purses to greyhound owners will rise by 10 percent, for a total of $28 million in 2015.
Brian Hansberry, president of gaming and entertainment at Southland owner Delaware North, said, ““Our team at Southland Park has done an excellent job building it into a great place for entertainment. The support from West Memphis, the region and the state of Arkansas has also been tremendous, and Delaware North is proud to be able to expand our positive effect on the local and state economy.”
Keeping added, “We also hope to increase our already substantial support of local charitable and community organizations. Providing help to these organizations is very important to Southland Park and Delaware North.”
When the current project is completed at the 60-year-old venue, Delaware North will have invested more than $100 million at Southland Park over the last decade.
