July 27, 200521 yr Sorry in advance if anyone had posted this before and I didn't find it: Battle Looms over Gettysburg Casino Plan by Eric Niiler Developers want to build a casino just outside of a Civil War battlefield at Gettysburg. But many local residents and Civil War buffs say their town and nearby battlefield is the wrong place for gambling. Developers want to build the 3,000-slot-machine Gettysburg Gaming Resort and Spa less than a mile away from East Cavalry Battlefield, where Confederate Gen. Jeb Stuart was defeated by George Custer, then a young Union officer, in 1863. Backers of the project, who include a local business owner and six other investors, say it will create 800 new fulltime jobs and pump millions of dollars into the local economy. But critics say the project threatens to bring traffic problems and could bring problems like prostitution and crime to the region. Preservationists already call U.S. Route 15, which runs from Gettysburg, Penn., to Monticello, Va., one of the most threatened historic roads in the country. Ever since gambling was made legal in PA about a year ago (Rune or anyone else from PA, it was about that long ago, right?), there has been a huge push to get this going. They want to put it in on Rte. 30 (if you are familiar with the area, head down Rte. 30, drive past the Wal-Mart, Staples, etc.) and right over the Rte. 15 overpass. I left from school the first week of May and it was already getting ugly then. I can only imagine what's in store for when I head back in a couple weeks. For all of the preservationalists out there, there are already underway with construction on a new hotel/conference center and two movie theatres.
July 27, 200521 yr I hope it doesn't get built. Gettysburg is a BEAUTIFUL area and I'd hate to see a significant Civil War battlefield's community defaced with a giant casino. They have a damn good KFC. That should be enough to keep tourists happy. :thumbup
July 27, 200521 yr I hope it doesn't get built. Gettysburg is a BEAUTIFUL area and I'd hate to see a significant Civil War battlefield's community defaced with a giant casino. They have a damn good KFC. That should be enough to keep tourists happy. :thumbup 876276[/snapback] Its already defaced by a Wal Mart a casino could only make it better.
July 27, 200521 yr I hope it doesn't get built.? Gettysburg is a BEAUTIFUL area and I'd hate to see a significant Civil War battlefield's community defaced with a giant casino. They have a damn good KFC.? That should be enough to keep tourists happy. :thumbup 876276[/snapback] Its already defaced by a Wal Mart a casino could only make it better. 876280[/snapback] haha. :notworthy
July 27, 200521 yr Author I hope it doesn't get built.? Gettysburg is a BEAUTIFUL area and I'd hate to see a significant Civil War battlefield's community defaced with a giant casino. They have a damn good KFC.? That should be enough to keep tourists happy. :thumbup 876276[/snapback] Its already defaced by a Wal Mart a casino could only make it better. 876280[/snapback] Yea, a Wal-Mart right on top of where one of the hospitals was. :plain
July 27, 200521 yr Interesting that the above story neglected to mention this: The 42 acres that LeVan has in mind are owned by another Gettysburg developer, Robert Monahan. He isn't one of LeVan's investors but is building a major project of his own, the $250 million "Gateway Gettysburg," directly across Route 30 from the casino site. It will consist of four hotels, a convention center, an eight-screen movie theater, restaurants and retail. Monahan's project is under construction. link It would seem the precedent for major development in that location has already been set. I doubt the casino is going to change a lot of things with a major project already underway just across the road. The only question is how many casino type places you need within a short range. The Gettysburg casino site is about 50 miles south of a racetrack/casino that will be operated by Penn National Racing (in Grantville, northeast of Harrisburg) and about 70 miles north of another Penn National facility, Charles Town Races and Slots in eastern West Virginia.
July 27, 200521 yr Author Interesting that the above story neglected to mention this: The 42 acres that LeVan has in mind are owned by another Gettysburg developer, Robert Monahan. He isn't one of LeVan's investors but is building a major project of his own, the $250 million "Gateway Gettysburg," directly across Route 30 from the casino site. It will consist of four hotels, a convention center, an eight-screen movie theater, restaurants and retail. Monahan's project is under construction. link It would seem the precedent for major development in that location has already been set. I doubt the casino is going to change a lot of things with a major project already underway just across the road. The only question is how many casino type places you need within a short range. The Gettysburg casino site is about 50 miles south of a racetrack/casino that will be operated by Penn National Racing (in Grantville, northeast of Harrisburg) and about 70 miles north of another Penn National facility, Charles Town Races and Slots in eastern West Virginia. 876332[/snapback] The development precedent was a long time ago, when the likes of Wal-Mart, Staples, the outlet center, etc, came into town. This LeVan guy, though, has a lot of poll in the area. He owns the Harley-Davidson dealership in town (and if anyone has ever been there, the thing is huge). He's also a former chairman of the Board of Trustees of Gettysburg College (Class of '68 I believe). This guy is also putting $1 million of his own money into the Majestic Theatre (very old theatre downtown) so it can show off-Broadway shows (the entire thing is supposed to cost around $12 million). This guy's loaded, and for the amount of money he throws around to different causes with the town, college, and county, I'd have a hard time believing he won't get his way with this.
July 27, 200521 yr Author The only question is how many casino type places you need within a short range. The Gettysburg casino site is about 50 miles south of a racetrack/casino that will be operated by Penn National Racing (in Grantville, northeast of Harrisburg) and about 70 miles north of another Penn National facility, Charles Town Races and Slots in eastern West Virginia. 876332[/snapback] The gambling age in PA will be 21 I believe, and in West Virginia, you only have to be 18 - that's why a lot of G-Burg kids head down there anyways.
July 27, 200521 yr The people who want to build a casino are idiots , the tourist that go to gettysburg are historian/tourists why ruin your main attraction ????? that is the problem with alot of development America needs to preserve its historical landmarks as well as maintain some open spaces otherwsie we will lose the character of our land
July 27, 200521 yr I know some of the folks that run the Battlefield tours in Gettysburg, so I'll have to give them a call and see how they feel about it all. It will probably be a "6 of 1, half dozen of another" type answer. More economic development means more potential people for them to get to, but may impact some of the historic nature of the area. I'll let you know when I talk to them.
July 27, 200521 yr While their at it, they should build an extension onto the White House for a casino. Maybe Washington's head on Mt. Rushmore should be converted into a spa. :plain
July 27, 200521 yr Well, the thing with the casino could be treading on really thin ice. On one hand, it could be like Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, which meshes very well with Colonial Williamsburg and probably complement each other in terms of tourism money (though I don't know if there was any controversy when Busch Gardens was being planned). Or it could end up like the Disney project near Manassas Junction, DOA. I'm leaning toward scenario #2. As it is, I'm hearing a lot of chatter around here about where to put a potential casino in Pittsburgh. The hills create a lot of problems here, because should it be built (and I think it eventually will be in order to keep tourism money from leaving the state via the Wheeling Island casino in West Virginia), I would prefer it to be built close to downtown or the North Shore (stadium area) and on one of the rivers.
July 27, 200521 yr Gettysburg is sacred ground. I'm a big civil war buff especially on the eastern stage. I was for casino's in PA but have a little respect for those who fell at the bloodiest battle on this hemisphere. The battlefields are amazing places for reflection and it's a great place to spend a day with all the monuments and significant spots. I've been their four times this summer and would hate to see the quaint town run over by gambling. Heck, they don't even let the reenactors go near the battlefield because they thing it's disrespectful to the dead and yet their's serious talk to build a casino.
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