Springfield leaders shelve resolution on a downtown casino
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The Springfield Committee of the Whole Tuesday tabled a resolution that the city be included for consideration of receiving a casino license, but it may at least have the ear of a local membership group of bars and restaurants.
The unique look of a proposed downtown casino — with table games like blackjack and craps and roulette and sports betting, but minus video gaming--could be an appeasement to Springfield businesses where video gaming is prolific.
According to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, Springfield operates 757 terminals that brought in nearly $50 million this past fiscal year.
Rockford has the second most terminals at 537.
The Central Illinois Licensed Beverage Association (CILBA) voted unanimously to oppose the casino ordinance and also oppose any future resolutions requesting consideration for casino licenses in Springfield. It also opposes any casino in coming to Springfield and or the surrounding area.
But CILBA president Ryan Bandy, who also owns Win, Lose, or Draught in Springfield, said the group is "always willing to have discussions" with city leaders and the resolution was partly held in committee Tuesday because of the association's upcoming meeting Nov. 15.
Bandy and CILBA leaders met earlier with Mayor Jim Langfelder and corporation counsel James Zerkle.
Bandy, who spoke at the committee of the whole and to The State Journal-Register afterwards, said membership remained very concerned about the encroachment of a casino in Springfield.
In Rockford, where a casino opened on Nov. 10, Bandy claimed revenue from video game dropped 12%.
"My bar," he added, "wouldn't be there without the gaming. I've been able to expand (the bar) and pay my people well and offer employees health insurance."
Casinos have totally different rules and "that's our biggest concern," said Bandy, referring to the number of different games available and sometimes 24-hour operation.
Langfelder said he was going to originally "restrict" video gaming in any proposed casino but opted to "limit" gaming. He admitted afterwards that "if we have no video gaming, that's fine by me."
Bandy admitted the mayor was proposing something "quite honestly I've never seen around the entire country, that is a casino without slot machines. Down the road, does something get changed (if a new owner comes in)? That's why (CILBA is) in strong opposition now. That math has shown it in other communities, the impact on the small businesses."
Council members were divided on the resolution.
Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams said there wasn't any harm in asking the General Assembly, especially if there wasn't a commitment.
"I've read articles where (the city council) wished it would have asked and we missed it," he said. "We shouldn't be scared to ask."
Ward 10 Ald. Ralph Hanauer said his concern was what it potentially could do to local businesses.
"We bring in a casino. It's going to be from outside. It's going to be a big company," he said. "Let's say we do get it How much does the city get out of it and what does it do to these guys?
"We're going to have a lot of holes in strip malls, things like that, if this casino comes in. I'm not sure it's a good thing for downtown. It could make the situation worse."
Langfelder said the driving force for bringing back the resolution was the troubled Wyndham City Centre, which has been operating under 30% occupancy rate and is millions of dollars behind in deferred maintenance.
Three times in the last three months city council members have turned away variances that would have opened the sale of the 30-story building to a New York developer for a mixed used of apartments and hotel rooms.
While a sale without a change in variance--the building is zoned only for 200 apartments— is still a possibility, Langfelder said Tuesday he has also approached Khalaf Ahmad al Habtoor, the owner of the President Abraham Lincoln Springfield Doubletree Hotel across the street who has a net worth of just over $2 billion, about a possible purchase.
"Everybody was saying you need hotel rooms," Langfelder said. "We heard two developers say they can't get financing for a 400-room hotel. (A casino) would give us the opportunity to possibly create value for that area.
"We're asking the state legislature to grant the city of Springfield a casino license. We'll come up with more defined language (after the meeting) and hopefully we'll get to point everyone is satisfied and move forward. The bottom line is if we don't do it, somebody else will, meaning someone outside the city."
