DAYTON -- Construction is officially back on for the Dayton Racino. If you've driven past Needmore and Wagner Ford and in the last couple weeks you'll notice there's no construction crews working.
Wednesday, The State Racing Commission unanimously approved the Penn Gaming's license to move their Toledo track to Dayton now allowing them to begin bidding out construction contracts in the next few days.
Needmore Drive-Through cashier Mary Parsons has been working there for about a year and gets a first row seat at the Dayton Racino construction.
"It probably took them two weeks to build those piles of dirt that are there now," Parsons said. "I'm waiting to see it all built up. They haven't worked on anything in the past couple of weeks."
That's because crews had to stop construction after the racing commission demanded more grandstand seating be added to the plans.
Penn Gaming came back with several hundred more seats totaling 1,037.
"That's a lot of seating," said Parsons.
The Racino will bring in 1,000 new construction jobs and 1,000 racino jobs and Penn National gaming agreed to hire 30 percent of its workforce from the city of Dayton.
"It's not everyday somebody wants to come in and put $80-100 million investment in, have the kind of jobs they are talking about and at a brown field site," said Assistant City Manager Shelley Dickstein. "It's a triple win for us."
And a win for the nearby businesses.
"When they get finished with that we're going to need more staff," said Parsons.
It can also be a win for drivers. Daytons' assistant city manager told us they will be making improvements to the intersection of Wagner Ford and Needmore to help mitigate traffic concerns.
The final hurdle for the Dayton Racino is approval from state lottery commission and the state racing commission on it's final plans.
Earlier coverage:
COLUMBUS -- Assistant City Manager Shelley Dickstein spoke to the media today about the recent state approval of the plans for the racino at Needmore and Wagner Ford roads.
She said city officials are very pleased with the investment Penn National Gaming is making within the city. That includes 1,000 construction jobs and 1,000 racino jobs.
Dickstein said that Penn National has agreed to hire 30 percent of its workforce from with the city of Dayton.
Dickstein called the racino a triple win for the city because they're getting jobs, an $80 million to $100 million investment and a brownfield site is getting cleaned up without it costing the city anything.
Dickstein says crews will be working aggressively and hope to have the racino open in about a year.
Connect with ABC 22/FOX 45 Reporter Wale Aliyu on Facebook and Twitter.
Wednesday, The State Racing Commission unanimously approved the Penn Gaming's license to move their Toledo track to Dayton now allowing them to begin bidding out construction contracts in the next few days.
Needmore Drive-Through cashier Mary Parsons has been working there for about a year and gets a first row seat at the Dayton Racino construction.
"It probably took them two weeks to build those piles of dirt that are there now," Parsons said. "I'm waiting to see it all built up. They haven't worked on anything in the past couple of weeks."
That's because crews had to stop construction after the racing commission demanded more grandstand seating be added to the plans.
Penn Gaming came back with several hundred more seats totaling 1,037.
"That's a lot of seating," said Parsons.
The Racino will bring in 1,000 new construction jobs and 1,000 racino jobs and Penn National gaming agreed to hire 30 percent of its workforce from the city of Dayton.
"It's not everyday somebody wants to come in and put $80-100 million investment in, have the kind of jobs they are talking about and at a brown field site," said Assistant City Manager Shelley Dickstein. "It's a triple win for us."
And a win for the nearby businesses.
"When they get finished with that we're going to need more staff," said Parsons.
It can also be a win for drivers. Daytons' assistant city manager told us they will be making improvements to the intersection of Wagner Ford and Needmore to help mitigate traffic concerns.
The final hurdle for the Dayton Racino is approval from state lottery commission and the state racing commission on it's final plans.
Earlier coverage:
COLUMBUS -- Assistant City Manager Shelley Dickstein spoke to the media today about the recent state approval of the plans for the racino at Needmore and Wagner Ford roads.
She said city officials are very pleased with the investment Penn National Gaming is making within the city. That includes 1,000 construction jobs and 1,000 racino jobs.
Dickstein said that Penn National has agreed to hire 30 percent of its workforce from with the city of Dayton.
Dickstein called the racino a triple win for the city because they're getting jobs, an $80 million to $100 million investment and a brownfield site is getting cleaned up without it costing the city anything.
Dickstein says crews will be working aggressively and hope to have the racino open in about a year.
Connect with ABC 22/FOX 45 Reporter Wale Aliyu on Facebook and Twitter.