Casino Possible for Raynham Park
The Mashpee Womponoags are reportedly in discussion with the owner of the former dog track.
Members of the Mashpee Womponoag Tribe are reportedly in discussion with the owner of the Raynham Park just over the Raynham town line, according to the Cape Cod Times.
The Times said "multiple sources" confirmed that park owner George Carney and leaders from the tribe are "in talks."
Formerly a 108-acre greyhound race track, the park became an area for simulcast betting in 2008 after dog racing was banned in Massachusetts. The park is located on route 138 south of Easton.
Board of Selectmen Chair Colleen Corona expressed concerns regarding traffic and public safety.
"A casino located there would certainly impact the intersection of Routes 106 and 138," she said. "I’m concerned about public safety issues with traffic coming out of a casino at night."
Corey Lucas of the engineering firm Beta Group told selectmen earlier this year that the crash rate at Foundry and Turnpike Street (138 and 106) is among the highest in the state, with a rate of 1.86 per million vehicles entering. Plans are in the works with the state to improve the intersection, which could be funded by Fiscal Year 2014.
Neither Carney nor Cedric Cromwell, chairman of the tribal council, confirmed that they were in discussions. Cromwell did say that the tribe was looking for a site for a resort casino.
"We have been evaluating and investigating multiple sites throughout our ancestral homeland in southeastern Massachusetts for our proposed resort casino," Cromwell said in a statement released Monday. "We have had preliminary conversations about possible sites and we are excited about the options that we have identified; however, it would be premature to comment on any location specifically at this time."
While discussions may be in early stages, the thought of a casino near Easton is something worth paying attention to, Corona said.
"The larger the complex, the larger the implecations," she said. "You’ve seen in casinos in other parts of the country where there were impacts on housing around casinos – there are many impacts around a casino. This is something we’re going to have to wait and see what the outcome is."
JOSEPH P MORAN
9:00 am on Thursday, June 16, 2011
my question is did the Rayham dog track have an impact on the
same intersection when it was developed? I don't see the same thing
happening even if there was a CASINO there. I feel that a casino would have a positive economic impact in the surrounding towns'
including Easton.
Janet Sroczynski
9:03 pm on Tuesday, August 23, 2011
I completely disagree with you Joseph P. Moran. Do you live in Easton? Do have children in the school system in Easton? Do you travel up and down Route 138 and Route 106 often? Do you have children that ride the school buses on these Easton streets? I do not see a positive economic impact on Easton, not at all. I do however see all the social-ill's that go with gambling; to include addiction, loss of income, loss of business to the small business owners in the area, including restaurants. Is there something wrong with converting the dog-track into a real business, perhaps a bank or a financial services company could locate there -offering full time employees a 401K, health insurance and so forth. I seem to recall Aetna in Brockton at 500 Belmont Street. It seems to me that if you Google a search, most other states have converted to on-line gambling...in which case, there is no need at all for a casino building. Why don't you put the dollars into fixing the roads in Massachusetts?