Pitt Meadows wants casino
By Monisha Martins - Maple Ridge News
Published: September 02, 2010 2:00 PM
Updated: September 02, 2010 4:39 PM
Pitt Meadows council wants a casino and convention centre in the city, perhaps built on an unused swath of commercial land along Lougheed Highway originally slated for a mall.
Coun. John Becker asked the city to send a letter to the province on Tuesday expressing its interest in a gaming complex and requesting that a feasibility study be done.
Council supported him.
“It’s not necessarily a singular vision of council that there be a Las Vegas North here in Pitt Meadows, but certainly the economic benefits to the community are very significant,” said Becker, adding that the city has been “on record” as being receptive to a gaming facility for several years.
A representative from the B.C. Lottery Corporation even spoke to council six years ago during its annual retreat.
At that time, council told the corporation it was interested in a casino. But the province reserved comment until transportation routes to Pitt Meadows improved or the Pitt River and Golden Ears bridges were built.
Becker is eyeing the North Lougheed commercial strip as a site for the casino-convention centre.
Smart!Centres, whose tenants include Walmart and Home Depot, owns a large chunk of land stretching from Harris Road to Meadows Gardens Golf Course along the highway and wants to build a mall on the site.
Walmart, however, will not be the mall’s anchor tenant as originally expected, as the retail giant is set to open across the Pitt River in Port Coquitlam.
As a result, Becker said, the city needs to have a clear understanding of what its options are now.
“The shopping centre thing may not be viable,” he added, noting the casino could help pay for a much-needed overpass at Lougheed Hwy. and Harris Road, as well as provide high-paying jobs.
“The jobs in there are certainly better than the standard retail service sector. Better than Walmart.”
Becker said Pitt Meadows isn’t interested in a “gaming centre”, a facility proposed to replace the Haney Bingo Plex in Maple Ridge that would house bingo, dining as well as electronic table and slot machine games.
“We are thinking on a somewhat grander scale,” he said. “It will come with issues. Some people are just philosophically opposed to the whole notion of gaming, but I am not one of them.”
Mayor Don MacLean supports the casino plan, especially if it includes a hotel and convention centre that could hold between 300 and 500 people.
“I don’t think it would be a very good use of land unless we could combine it with a convention centre,” MacLean said.
The idea is also drawing praise from the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Chamber of Commerce, which has been calling for a conference centre in the area to siphon off some of the business from Vancouver.
The chamber has been working on a plan that looks at the vision, management and economic impact of such a project.
“Our data shows it’s needed,” said chamber president Jeremy Bekar.
“We need one on the north side of the river with easy access. We have the airport, which is an easy in-out for conventions and meetings.”
The whole idea, though, is contingent on the North Lougheed Connector, a yet-to-be road through farmland for which approval has been languishing with the Agricultural Land Commission since last year.
Environmentalists don’t like the city’s plan for a casino paving over green space.
The charm of Pitt Meadows is that it hasn’t bought into big city life, said Pitt Polder Preservation Society president Diana Williams.
“I would prefer to see smaller, local businesses going in rather than a casino and convention centre,” she added.
“There is already a casino in Coquitlam and one in Langley. I don’t know why we would want this kind of thing in our community. It will bring all kinds of other problems along with it.”
Pitt Meadows’ interest in a casino surprised Maple Ridge Mayor Ernie Daykin, as the district is waiting for Great Canadian Gaming Corp. to start its new gaming centre on 227th Street and Lougheed Highway. That project is supposed to be built by 2013 and is to replace the Haney Bingo Plex.
“There are only so many casino licences to go around,” Daykin said.
“What are the chances of success that close to Boulevard [casino]?”
Great Canadian owns that casino in Coquitlam on United Boulevard.
Daykin, though, said it’s possible Great Canadian could change its mind and pull out of the downtown Maple Ridge location in favour of a casino in Pitt Meadows.
“They have been upfront and open with us around this whole process,” he said.
“I’d be incredibly disappointed if they made that change.
Coun. Craig Speirs had similar thoughts.
“I don’t see them getting a licence, quite frankly. North side of Lougheed – I think that’s goofy.”
But Great Canadian Gaming has no plans to build in Pitt Meadows and is committed to Maple Ridge, spokesman Howard Blank said Thursday.
“Our gaming centre is being built in Maple Ridge.”
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I really hope Dino-town re-opens in Metro-Vancouver, for if not this will be another loss of variety in our area and one less family attraction. I loved Dino-town when i was a kid (although then it was Flintstone themed). Moving it from the east Fraser Valley, now that it is closed, to Surrey or especially Burnaby would be a fantastic outcome. Having it near the centre of our metro, and hopefully close to transit, would be great for kids and families.
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