Progress slows on Hoosier Park expansion
Mar. 27—ANDERSON — Supply chain issues that have plagued the construction industry, plus other logistical challenges, have converged to slow progress on a $40 million expansion project at Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing and Casino.
"We're looking at October at this point" for the project to be fully completed, said Trent McIntosh, senior vice president and general manager at Harrah's Hoosier Park.
Officials had targeted early to mid-July of 2023 for the grand opening of the new space, which is projected to add about 30,000 square feet to the casino and house approximately 150 new slot machines and 11 table games.
Other amenities, including a high limit space, a casino bar featuring hand-crafted cocktails and a quick-serve restaurant accessible directly from the casino floor, are expected to boost the facility's profile among the state's gaming destinations, McIntosh said.
Planning for the expansion began in earnest in 2019, after Indiana lawmakers approved legislation permitting legalized sports betting across the state and green-lighting live table games.
The COVID-19 pandemic complicated those plans, McIntosh said at a groundbreaking for the project last May. He noted that throughout the pandemic-related lockdowns — and even after restrictions were lifted — planners were able to rethink some aspects of the project that he believes will make the finished product even better.
"When you walk in, you'll walk into table pits and you'll see the high-limit space," McIntosh said. "Everything's really just more open and accessible than it was in the past."
McIntosh said the racino enjoyed a healthy bounce-back year from a financial standpoint in 2022. Year-over-year revenue was up between 1% and 1.5%, he said, even as record inflation compelled many patrons to cut back on discretionary spending. Record-high gas prices also probably cut into visits from out-of-towners, which likely had ripple effects in the local lodging and restaurant sectors.
"That had to have some effect," he said. "There were definitely some economic conditions that seemed like they had an effect the whole second half of the year. The good news is, it feels like through two months that we've rebounded back to those solid numbers again for the first quarter (of 2023)."
McIntosh said racino officials and employees are already at work preparing for the Breeders Crown, which Harrah's Hoosier Park will host for the third time this fall. He said the Breeders Crown is the largest standardbred racing weekend in the country — "it's basically the championship weekend for that industry," he said — and will put the facility front and center in the horse racing industry.
The event in 2020, held in the midst of the pandemic, was run with fewer than 600 fans on site.
"I would expect (the event) this year to be more replicating what we did here in 2017," McIntosh said. "Just having a massive influx of people into Anderson and Madison County over the last weekend in October. It should be the event of the year in Anderson."
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