While the plans have seemed to come to a halt concerning the potential move of the St. Joseph Frontier Casino to a location in downtown Missouri, city leaders are not holding their breath.
The Executive Director of the Downtown Partnership stated that it would be nice to have a casino in downtown, due to the fact that it would enable an element of 24 hour 7 days a week entertainment. Yet if that does not happen they will move forward with other things.
The design plans for this new casino have been on the table for three years now. The plan would mean that this casino would be a part of a renovation of the western edge of downtown which is along the riverfront that would also include a conference center as well as other major attractions.
There is not a conference area that is located anywhere in town, it would have been nice to capture that amenity in the downtown area so we could bring mid-size conferences into the community which would benefit everyone stated the Executive Director of the Downtown Partnership.
City leaders state that a study has shown that a casino in the downtown area would be very successful. On the other hand a research study that was completed by Affinity Gaming, the current owners of the casino showed that this major move would cost the casino $50 million. This cost factor as well as a recent change in management may be the sticking point on moving the casino to the downtown area.
There are at least two of the City Council members who believe that this is a dead issue. While the city staff members are not so pessimistic on the issue. While many people are very excited on the current direction that downtown Missouri is trending, they believe that there will be more momentum with a casino as the anchor tenant.
