The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, the agency that operates the Meadowlands Racetrack, signed an agreement last week that will place an off-track wagering facility on a 6-acre tract on Route 440 North in Bayonne, just off the East Fifth Street exit.
Michael O’Connor, executive director of the Bayonne Economic Development Corporation, said the deal has been struck to begin development. But the project still has several hearings to go through before the first shovel breaks ground.
The NJSEA will have to do a presentation before the New Jersey Racing Commission at a hearing to be held in Bayonne, and the project will also likely be presented before the Bayonne Planning Board as a courtesy.
“We’ve had tremendous cooperation from Mayor [Mark] Smith and the City of Bayonne,” said John Samerjan, vice president for public affairs for the NJSEA. “We believe this will be a great new attraction and a great new rateable for the city.”
A year and half ago, the NJSEA opened its first OTW facility in a strip mall in Woodbridge, where $2 million is wagered weekly.
O’Connor said the facility in Bayonne is expected to be larger and more upscale, and concept drawings depict a facility that is modeled after the better gambling facilities in Atlantic City, rather than the previously opened facilities around the state.
“The Bayonne facility will be a step up from the Woodbridge facility,” Samerjan said. “We think the Bayonne facility will take the racing and dinning to a whole new level. The facility will have other things for people to do while they are there.”
The Bayonne facility would include a restaurant similar to the McLoone’s at the Woodbridge site – although O’Connor said the NJSEA might have another vendor in place. The facility is expected to generate 100 full and part-time jobs, including OTW staff, security, maintenance, and food service.
“We wanted to create an upscale place for people to come and to bring their families,” said David Attilio, the senior manager of Favorites (an OTW site) in Woodbridge during a tour of that facility last year. Attillo will likely be the person who will oversee the opening of a larger facility in Bayonne.
Under a referendum passed in 1999, the state can open up to 15 such facilities, although these are divided into regions and operated by different authorities. The law also allows municipalities to veto the better parlors, and the Bayonne City Council has until May 15 to decide if it wants the facility to open here.
In Woodbridge, Attilio said, the doors open at about 11 a.m., and generally close around 11:30 p.m., depending on the last races.
Races – brought in through a bank of closed circuit television receivers – can come from almost anywhere in the world.
“This is a huge win for us.” – Michael O’Connor
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But the concept behind the New Jersey parlors is to avoid some of the issues that have plagued similar off-track betting facilities in other states. First of all, the Woodbridge and other centers will more closely resemble sports bars that serve food and alcohol. Along with broadcasting races, these centers will also show regular television programs and other sporting events.
While families can come to the facilities, a person must be 18-years-old or older to make a bet.
The Woodbridge facility is estimated to handle about $70 million this year, most of which will be returned to winners or distributed to horse handlers. The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority will keep about 10 percent, or $7 million. After expenses, including rent and salaries, its profit figures to be about $3 million.
Attilio noted that while people do get excited, cursing and other blatantly disruptive behavior is banned.
If a person does not behave, they are banned – not merely from the particular facility, but from all facilities operated by the NJSEA.
The proposed site on Route 440 near East Fifth Street will have to be cleaned up to meet New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection standards, O’Connor said. But he said once constructed, the off-track betting facility would form the southern most point of a string of new retail development, and would – hopefully – serve as a magnet to bring in business.
“This is a huge win for us,” O’Connor said. “It will bring people into the area, and some of those people will do business here.”
The plans on file for the Bayonne facility show that the new facility will have two levels. The first level is about 30,000 square feet, with a café, bar, lounge restaurant, and a VIP lounge that can seat about 500 people. The mezzanine level, which is about 6,700 square-feet, will have a bar, bar lounge, and a private party room with seating for about 90 people.
“We hope that the Meadowlands/Bayonne off track facility will open people’s eyes to the experience of racing,” Samerjan said. “We would like to have a new generation come and experience the great sport, and we couldn’t be more exited about coming to Bayonne. This will be a state of the art facility we hope will be open at by the end of the next year. Even if people do not come to our facility, they will benefit because the city is getting a new tax ratable.”
“We look forward to the success of the new Meadowlands Bayonne Sports Entertainment and Dining venture proposed for Bayonne,” said Mayor Mark Smith. “The facility promises to provide many benefits to the community including good jobs,much needed revenue for both the state and the city, and a quality restaurant. Many Bayonne residents enjoy a night at the track and this exciting new facility with its state of the art simulcast capabilities will bring the ‘Sport of Kings’ right here to us in Bayonne.”