Gateway Casinos and Entertainment, which currently operates slot machines at the Western Fairgrounds in London, Ontario, announced last week that it is abandoning its proposal for a hotel, restaurant and casino complex on the fairgrounds and will seek permission to build in the city’s south end on property currently owned by the concrete company N-J Spivak.
Western Fair President Hugh Mitchell said the decision was disappointing but not a surprise and added that it is “early days to really determine the ultimate impact.” He said the fairgrounds would need government support to make it through.
Gateway spokesman Rob Mitchell told the Free Press, “I can confirm we have signed a lease to locate on Wonderland Road near the intersection with Wharncliffe Road.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he supports the horse racing industry, one of the biggest revenue sources for the fair, and the employer of 5,000 people.
Gateway’s announcement comes after a year of negotiations between itself, the city and Western Fair, from which Gateway sought more favorable terms. It proposed an expanded $140 million casino with 1,200 slots and 46 table games and a 125-room hotel. But it wanted not a lease but to buy the land outright. Gateway took over operations of the existing casino from the government in 2017 as Ontario Lottery & Gaming (OLG) sought to divest itself of directly operating casinos. It also took over sites in Woodstock and Point Edward and has begun building a new $36 million casino in Chatham.
Mitchell wouldn’t comment on details of the new deal, including whether a hotel was in the cards. “It would be premature to comment on what the development of the new site will look like until we’ve had an adequate chance to survey the property,” he said.
