A sod-turning ceremony recently took place at Hanover Raceway, commemorating the commencement of an expansion at the half-mile Ontario raceway
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According to a report by Bayshore Broadcasting, the raceway is spending $9 million dollars to add a two-storey, 30,000 square-foot banquet and convention centre behind the existing slots facility. The idea has apparently been in the works for six years.
The article states that the facility will be able to hold trade shows and wedding banquets and will be able to hold up to 600 people. The release from Hanover Raceway appears below.
After years of planning and deliberation, the ground was officially broken Wednesday, October 12 at Hanover Raceway for the construction of a new full service banquet hall to be located on the Hanover Fair Grounds and attached to the current raceway facility.
The hall, which is yet to be named, will be a vital addition to the town and raceway, providing a centre that the community has a need for. It will provide new jobs, attract new visitors to Hanover and improve the quality of entertainment provided at Hanover Raceway.
At a ceremony held Wednesday afternoon at the fairgrounds, raceway general manager Gord Dougan welcomed many special guests, including Mayor Kathy Maskell, CAO Mike Dunlop, CBO Don Tedford, MPP Bill Walker, chamber rep Cindy Schaus, members of the Hanover, Bentinck & Brant Agricultural Society board, representatives from the OLG Slots Hanover site, architect Wayne Barratt, construction manager Mike Kalish, and site supervisor Dave Helwig.
The guests, among others, were on hand to witness the start of a $9-million, 12-month building process that will see Hanover gain a brand new 30,000 square foot banquet and event hall complete with two wall dividers, to make one large room for 600, or three smaller rooms with 200 in each. It will also include three bridal suites, a full service state of the art banquet kitchen, five bars, a coat room, a board of directors’ room, offices, and a private dining area overlooking the track.
Dougan announced the “start of construction on a 12-month project, which will result in up to 20 full and part time additional jobs, and will hopefully be ready for operation in time for next year’s Christmas parties, and Christmas weddings.”
One of those new jobs that the board is starting to look to fill is the position of sales and marketing coordinator. According to Dougan, the position will be in charge of taking bookings and planning events, as well as maintaining a new website, that should be up and running by Christmas 2011.
Now that ground has been broken and the construction is underway, next on the agenda for the new hall is to come up with a name for the facility and plan the ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the completion of the project. The construction timeline is expected to be twelve months, so with a built in window for delays, the plan is to start taking bookings in either mid-to late November or early December. Also, there are plans to have at least one grand opening gala, at that time.
In closing, Dougan stressed the importance of this new facility for the town of Hanover, stating, “this facility will be one of a kind for our area. It will house most, if not all of our major corporate functions, large weddings, and we’ll be able to attract trade show events that would otherwise have to be held on arena floors, or outside our area in other communities. We expect that this facility will draw further investment and people into our community, and will be another one of the reasons why Hanover is the place to be.”