On Thursday's quarterly earnings call with Churchill Downs, Inc., CEO Bill Carstanjen announced that the company will scrap plans for a hotel located on the first turn of the Louisville, Ky. racetrack, reports wdrb.com.
“We may decide to build a hotel at the racetrack in the future, but now is not the right time,” said Carstanjen. “We think we have excellent, alternative projects that offer better returns on our capital over shorter periods.”
Construction on the hotel project had begun in late 2019, but was paused in 2020 amid the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
New plans to expand Churchill Downs are in the works, Carstanjen added. While he declined to go into specifics, the CEO indicated that one project will be completed ahead of the 2022 Kentucky Derby, a second ahead of 2023 Derby, and the “third and most transformative project” in 2024.
Churchill had also planned to include historical racing machines at the hotel facility, but executives are now reconsidering placing the machines at the racetrack.
Carstanjen suggested CDI is searching for a property in downtown Louisville which would suit the historical racing machines, without cannibalizing business at it's Derby City Gaming, located about five miles from the racetrack itself.
Derby City Gaming will also be expanded in the near future, with an outdoor patio featuring historical racing terminals in the works.
Read more at wdrb.com.
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