The Concord, New Hampshire Planning Board approved a project to build a 45,000-square-foot casino, hotel and restaurant in the city’s Gateway Performance District.
Under the plan, the casino will be built first, with the hotel and a conference center to follow. New Hampshire only technically allows charitable gaming, and 35 percent of the revenues generated by casinos must go to charities. Local charities like the Concord Lions Club have come out in support of the project.
“We’re just trying to build, actually, a pretty comprehensive opportunity for people to come to Concord to stay, to go to dinner, to some charitable gaming which again, raises money for charity,” Said Andy Sanborn, managing member of the Concord Casino, in an interview with WMUR-TV.
The WMUR-TV report also featured local residents opposed to the project. “Gaming, if you look at it, brings tremendous problems,” said one resident, while others pointed to potential negative consequences from a new casino.
Final approval of the project is expected early this year, and if approved, the operator said it could be open in 18 months.
