The Hot Springs course revealed $100-million expansion soon after Arkansas voters accepted legal gambling in the region

Thoroughbred course Oaklawn Racing & Gaming in Hot Springs, Arkansas revealed on Monday a $100-million expansion that may involve the inclusion of a lofty hotel, a conference facility, and gambling area, and many more things.

The news came in two weeks shortly after Arkansas voters accepted Issue 4, a constitutional amendment that allowed the expansion of full-blown casinos at Oaklawn and Southland Racing and Gaming in West Memphis in addition to the development of two brand-new casinos in Pope and Jefferson Counties.

The expansion campaign will involve a seven-story hotel including 200 rooms, with two presidential suites, a 14,000-square-foot conference facility, and 28,000 square feet of added gambling area. Features at the hotel high rise will involve a fitness, spa and restaurant , and an external pool, and many more amenities. Oaklawn operators stated that part of the hotel rooms will provide exceptional sights of the course, while some parts will deliver mountain and lake views.

Oaklawn projects to begin on the business expansion soon after the end of the racing year in May 2019. Operators believe that the intended gaming development will be finished by January 2020, while the hotel and conference facility is projected to be completed late in 2020. According to preliminary projections, the campaign will produce 2,300 construction and 400 permanent jobs.

Development Program Since 2014

Louis Cella, President of Oaklawn Jockey Club, stated on Monday that the expansion project embodies a new phase in the abundant 114-year evolution of the racetrack. The administrator also indicated that while several might believe the news appeared in response to the legislation of Issue 4, structures the business expansion initially surfaced in 2014, immediately following a prior expansion venture had been wrapped up.

Mr. Cella stated on Monday that along with the new plan, they intend to improve the entertainment experience for customers, raise thoroughbred racing, and make Hot Springs, and Arkansas overall “even stronger regional tourism destinations.”

Oaklawn did not take a side during disputes over the suggested casino business expansion in Arkansas. Southland, alternatively, presented its assistance for the ballot solution before the November 6 vote and mentioned that in case Issue 4 prevailed, it would grow its operation substantially.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson participated in Oaklawn’s Monday event, claiming that course officials notified him regarding their growth plans in October and that the transition of the casino tally strategy was not applicable to those plans.

The state’s leading official said and touted the project that his department appreciate the dedication to Hot Springs that Oakland has demonstrated. Gov. Hutchinson additionally observed that tourist is the state’s “second-leading industry” and any expenditure in that market is appreciated.