Downtown gaming centre recommended (MAPLE RIDGE)

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By Phil MelnychukStaff ReporterSep 09 2006
Forget about a casino. Instead, place your bets on a community gaming centre, in other words, a shiny new bingo hall with everything a casino has except table games. If expanding gambling comes to Maple Ridge, it likely will be in that form and be in the downtown, where it would complement the Arts Centre Theatre. It also would have access to spacious underground parking below the municipal buildings, include a conference centre and serve as an anchor for a future hotel.The new centre could also serve as a catalyst for a revitalized entertainment district, says a report to council from chief administrator Jim Rule. Council gets the report Monday, In it, Rule asks for direction to create such a "vision" for a community gaming centre. Maple Ridge, though, didn't really have any choice in choosing a gaming centre over a casino. After talks in late August with B.C. Lottery Corp., municipal staff were told that BCLC would only consider a gaming centre in Maple Ridge because of recent growth in the number of casinos in the Lower Mainland. "It's real positive news," said Mayor Gordy Robson. If council agrees on the vision, the district would consider a proposal from a BCLC-appointed casino company that would partner with the Ridge Meadows Bingo Association. That would ensure charities funded by bingo wouldn't lose. "No charities would lose funding as a result of whatever happens," Robson said. Such a gaming centre could evolve to a casino after 2008, when BCLC again reviews its casinos in the Lower Mainland. Having the Arts Centre Theatre nearby could actually be a plus because most casinos now have theatres, Robson said. In return, the ACT could generate greater traffic by being connected to a gambling centre. Possible locations could be in Haney Place Mall on 224th Street, or east of the mall or in the vacant lot next to Memorial Peace Park and the Zeller's parking lot. The report follows public consultation this spring on gambling in Maple Ridge consisting of an open house, six interest group meetings and two focus groups.That exercise concluded that any gambling facility not affect the Ridge Meadows Bingo Association and its 38 charities, everything from the arts council to the seniors society which rely on bingo proceeds.