Concerns Remain Over Proposed South Surrey Casino Expansion

Published: July 23, 2012 11:46 am EDT

Meetings that took place last week between the Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce and the BC Lottery Corporation have eased some of the concerns business owners close to Fraser Downs have in regard to talk of a new casino coming to South Surrey, but the question of why the location was chosen in the first place still remains unanswered for the most part.

Both the CDCC and the Cloverdale Business Improvement Association have both voiced strong concerns over a new casino in the area cannibalizing Fraser Downs. The groups have stated that the BCLC has not done its due diligence on the matter.

An article by Surrey Now quoted CDCC President Brian Young as saying that the BCLC presented numbers last week during a meeting between the two parties, and that the numbers didn’t support the BCLC’s rationale for selecting South Surrey as the location for a new casino expansion.

"They provided some numbers, and what they said was not what the numbers provide," Young was quoted as saying.

Young went on to say, "Their reason (the BCLC’s reason) that they chose that location based on population made no sense at all. We want to see a copy of the study they said supports the decision… Quite honestly, when they're saying they did a study, I believe if they asked the questions properly, they would not have come to that conclusion. We want to know why the BCLC didn't look at expanding Fraser Downs, versus putting them in a situation where they won't be able to operate because it won't be financially viable. BCLC made the announcement [about the casino in South Surrey] in front of the business community without consulting with them."

The BCLC has stated that they have "conducted a thorough marketplace analysis" that confirms Surrey can support two full-service casinos.

“For us, all we’re concerned with is that Fraser Downs is the primary casino in Surrey, and they have assured us that it will be equal in size to the other one – which means it will be equal in profits,” Young was quoted as saying later in the week in an article by the Cloverdale Reporter.

In the Cloverdale Reporter article, Young reiterated that the CDCC still does not understand why the BCLC would’ve selected south Surrey as a location to introduce casino expansion in a facility other than Fraser Downs. He stated that the proposed location appears to not meet “any of the criteria” and “is located very close to existing gaming facilities (within 15 minutes of three other facilities).”

(With files from the Cloverdale Reporter and Surrey Now)

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