Game control board just gave Majestic Star the slot license for Pittsburgh.

KDKA Link

This means that the millions/billions of dollars that the Isle of Capri was going to put into Pittsburgh to build a new arena and revamp most of the downtown area gets traded for an indoor waterfall and "7.5 million dollars a year for 30 years to build a new arena."

It is nice to see that much of the eastern side of the state could care less about Pittsburgh.

No offense to anyone...im just ticked off at the game control board.

 

LOL, like you didn't know we were going to get screwed over?! That's been a given since day one with the slots licenses. I think that's why there were so many people around here opposed to the idea in the first place, they really didn't set down any decent guidelines for how the slots licenses would be distributed as far as location goes.

 

i had an idea it would happen...just really hoped it would have worked out for PGH and the Pens. Isle of Capri was going to give so much to the city as far as remodling and rebuilding. What does this guy offer? a waterfall.

 

It's typical politics. It's not always who can do the most for all it's who can do the most for some, and usually those "some" are the ones who make the decisions.

Who knows, there may have been something in the proposal that didn't sit well with someone or they honestly didn't think Isle of Capri could make it work out. Who knows. I just knew the whole gaming thing wasn't going to bode well for Pittsburgh from the start.

 

I don't blame you for being upset. I agree with you.

 

Think about where the Isle of Capri wanted to build - Hill District. Which area has the better chance of getting bus full's of little old ladies being dropped off? No offense if anyone lives there but seriously i wouldnt want to drive through the Hill District during the day let alone walk through it to get to my car at night. I think that had more to do with it than people think. Plus they felt that Station Square was already more developed into an area to accept entertainment than the money they would have to put upfront to build up the Hill. Just MHO.

 

all the money needed to build the hill district was being put up by IOC. they were putting 1 billion dollars up front for the new arena and city layout.

 

I work in the North Shore.. in Allegheny Center.. thats like right behind the Stadiums.

I am deathly afraid of 3 things

1.) Traffic... its already horrible coming across the West end bridge.. This is really the main way to get to that area...Whats it going to be like now that construction and new roadways are going to be put in.

2.) Parking.. hopefully our parking garages here dont get all taken up by the old farts that throw away their nickels and dimes. Will parking prices go up? Oh god....

3.) Temptation...MY ass is gonna wanna take my lunch break, run down there, and frikken blow away money on slot machines... rofl.. im so screwed...

 

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06347/745587-109.stm

I think this was a well written editorial. Even though the IOC gauranteed the Pens stay here, it was definitely not the best plan. The north shore is a much better Location when it comes to traffic and the roads to get to/from there. There some major highways right there already. The IOC would make traffic in that area terrible. Just look how bad it is leaving after a pens game. IT would only get worse with a casino and there is not really any option to build more/better roads in and out of there.

 

Another article from kdka... Link

A majority of the problems faced with traffic through the area is the Mellon Arena. When they bulit it they had to re-route the roads causing the mass confusion we face today. If you demolish the arena and reorganize the roads traffic flow will be much much smoother through there.

 

I just read the article...excellent write up like you said. As far as location goes I agree...if they accomplish thier goals and build up the area like they say then that would be a better spot then in the residential area. However, I am also concerned with getting there, traffic, and parking. All three of those aspects will have to be considered and hopefully worked out.

I also believe that IOC knew what they were doing when they chose the spot they did and had full intentions to making it work for the city as far as traffic/parking/accessibility go.

From what I have seen and read it just seems as if IOC offered the most to the city by giving the money up front, laying down exactly what they wanted to do and how they were going to do it. They were prepared to hand the city a check for 1 billion dollars to change the way the downtown area looked and felt. This included the new arena among other things.

I just hope that the North Shore people do what is best for that area and contribute to the city.

 

Eh... I would've much rather had IOC get it. I understand the Hill District is a bad area... but they were going to revamp it and hopefully push the ghetto out of there. I'd love to see some development there to revive that area of town. Like splink said... you can reroute the major inlets/outlets for traffic there. It's not that horrible of a spot. You have very easy access the Crosstown Blvd. (therefore I579, 19, and Blvd. of the Allies), Bigelow Blvd., and fairly quick access to 376 and 279 as well.

 

The problem with that though is that you don't push the ghetto out, you just relocate it. Same thing happened to Homestead when they put the Waterfront in. Sure it's a more decent area now, but property values went up so high that it drove the lowest class people out and just pushed the ghetto into the surrounding communities.

Short term I think IOC probably would have done more, but the more I'm reading about the two proposals, the more I'm thinking that this decision may end up better in the end. Whereas the Hill would require some time to develop, the North Shore is already prepared for more development. Easier access to major roads, more room for additional support such as hotels, restaurants, etc.

Who knows, it's kinda one of those time will tell things. Up front the IOC proposal looked like a great offer, but there's some definite +'s to the offer they accepted.