Oaklawn on Monday announced it would invest more than $100 million in the biggest expansion in its history, to include a hotel and an event center, in addition to an expanded game room with outdoor patios that face the race track.
In an announcement in the grandstand area of the track, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he was grateful to the Cella family for its commitment to Arkansas and to quality thoroughbred racing.
“Hot Springs and Oaklawn will continue to be the no. 1 tourist destination” for the state, Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson said it would be a “premier” project and also build Oaklawn as a racing venue.
Hutchison noted that Oaklawn officials visited him in October, prior to the passage of Issue 4, which will allow the addition of casino games at the track, showing their commitment to the state and to Hot Springs.
Construction on the project will begin in May immediately following completion of the 2019 racing season. The target completion date for the gaming expansion is January 2020 with the hotel and event center to be completed in late 2020, according to a news release from Oaklawn.
“This historic announcement represents a new chapter in the rich 114-year history of Oaklawn,” Louis Cella, president of Oaklawn Jockey Club, said in the release. “As we enhance the entertainment experience for our customers, we will also further elevate thoroughbred racing and help make Arkansas and Hot Springs even stronger regional tourism destinations.”
“The state of Arkansas is grateful to Louis and his family for their commitment to growing their business right here at home,” Hutchinson said in the release. “This project, which will be financed exclusively with private funds, not only represents one of, if not the largest, tourism related expansion projects in our history, it will also rank among the state’s largest economic development projects in 2019.”
Flintco Construction, with an Arkansas headquarters located in Springdale, is the contractor on the project. The company estimates that as many as 2,300 jobs will be created during the construction phase.