Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 17, 1995 TAG: 9508170042
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Jeffrey P. Jacobs, whose family owns the Cleveland Indians baseball team, told the Virginia Racing Commission that he has committed at least $1 million to Colonial Downs.
The commission - frustrated by delays in the track's development - appeared impressed by Jacobs' sports pedigree. Several commission members engaged Jacobs in baseball banter, commenting on the good fortune of the division-leading Indians and exchanging memories from the 1954 World Series.
Jacobs, whose investments range from urban redevelopment in Cleveland to a casino in Denver, said he may be willing to underwrite one-quarter of the $37 million track.
But he said his involvement was contingent on the ability of the Ohio company that last year received a license to operate the New Kent track to get approval for wagering at off-track betting parlors.
The racing commission obliged, awarding a license for an off-track parlor in Chesapeake to Stansley Management Co. of Toledo, Ohio.
A spokesman for Stansley said the company has plans to open four off-track facilities by the end of the year. Potential sites have been identified in Hampton, Henrico County, Brunswick County and Virginia Beach.
The awarding of the off-track betting parlors means that Stansley Management Co. has 12 months to stage horse racing in New Kent, between Richmond and Norfolk.
Stansley Management officials said construction has been delayed by a lawsuit challenging the racing commission's decision to award the state's first and only license to the New Kent site. The lawsuit by James Wilson of the Virginia Jockey Club is pending before the Virginia Court of Appeals.
Despite the legal challenge, Stansley lawyer James L. Weinberg assured the racing commission that the New Kent track would host its first event within the next year.
Weinberg said the track would be ready for a ``fairgrounds'' season with tents serving as a temporary pavilion. He would not say, however, how long the season would last.
Jacobs' appearance was timed to quash rumors that Arnold Stansley, president of Stansley Management, had run into trouble financing a new track at a time when many existing horse tracks around the nation have seen their revenues decline.
Racing commission Chairman John H. Shenefield reprimanded those people in the horse-breeding community who he said have spread ``insinuations'' and ``flat-out disinformation'' about Stansley.
``Isn't it the Virginia way to get behind the winning applicant?'' Shenefield said.
Stansley - who beat out four competitors last fall - has proposed financing the Colonial Downs track with $8.9 million in cash and $22 million in bonded debt. The Chesapeake Corp. is donating 345 acres along Interstate 64 that Stansley values at $6 million.
Weinberg said Jacobs' investment would ``solidify an already solid financing plan.'' He declined to answer specific questions about finances, saying he would file a complete report for the commission's September meeting.
by CNB