Although it is not the parking/entrance project that is envisioned for the future, the Western OTB Board of Directors has signed off on a half-million-dollar project that will see the parking lot across the street from Batavia Downs repaved.
As an article by The Daily News explains, work is expected to get underway in May. Shuttles will run daily to accommodate patrons that are forced to park further away than usual.
Western OTB officials have said that they still have ambitions for Batavia to have a grand porte-cochère entrance that would extend out from the facility, over Park Road (which separates Batavia Downs from the parking lot) and into the lot.
“We’re still going to move ahead with the lot, not knowing when the (other project’s approval) will be done, hopefully sometime this year,” Western OTB Vice President Scott Kiedrowski was quoted as saying. “It’s paramount for a lot of our customers ... it’s reached its age, it’s time for a major capital improvement.”
The report also states that there are also plans to construct the shell of a new six-race paddock at Batavia, but that those plans are currently taking a back seat to the lot paving. Regardless, officials are still hoping that the construction of the shell can be completed before the end of the track’s 2017 meet.
“The plans have been submitted,” Western OTB Executive Vice President Mike Nolan was quoted as saying. “There’s no bid date, but our plan is to put it out to bid, receive them back and proceed (to board approval) in May. We’ll start construction in June and July.”
(With files from The Daily News)