City betting horse racing, slots will spark a revival

David B. Caruso

Thursday, April 17, 2003 | 11:25 a.m.

CHESTER, Pa. -- Evelyn Clark said she thought it was a cruel joke the first time she heard a politician say that this hardscrabble city's salvation lay in a horse track and casino planned for its down-and-out waterfront.

"I thought, 'A casino? This is the last thing that Chester needs,' " said Clark, captain of the Chester chapter of the Salvation Army. "We have enough problems here as it is. And we want to add gambling?"

But in months of trying, she hasn't found many people who agree with her.

City leaders were euphoric earlier this month when state officials awarded a coveted harness racing license to Chester Downs, a group that wants to build a track, a 50-slip marina and a 2,500-seat concert hall on the grounds of a defunct shipyard.

Now, they are focusing their efforts on winning support for a proposal to legalize slot machine gambling at horse tracks -- a proposition backed by Gov. Ed Rendell.

If slots are approved, Chester Downs plans to install around 3,000 of them -- enough to make it a draw for gamblers from around the state.

Chester Mayor Wendell N. Butler heralded the planned track as "the lynchpin" of the city's efforts to redevelop its waterfront.

"We are right at the poverty line, but if we have the racetrack and we have the slots, there will be a couple million people coming here annually," Butler said.

"The perception of Chester throughout the Delaware Valley is that it is a dangerous place to go, and nothing good comes out of here ... but if thousands of people come here to enjoy themselves and nothing bad happens to them, I think that would go a long way toward changing the perception of this city."

With slots, the track at the former Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock yard would employ 1,800 people and generate nearly $300 million in revenue, according to Chester Downs President Joseph Lashinger.

Two percent of the gross revenue would be split between the city and county, he said. The company has also agreed to reserve a majority of the new jobs for people who live in Chester, Lashinger said.

James Harper, president of Laborers International Union Local 413, likened the proposal to "a money train," badly needed in a city that never recovered from the collapse of its shipbuilding industry after World War II.

Nearly half of Chester's population has vanished since the 1950s, leaving entire blocks abandoned and boarded up.

Today, the city's historic center, settled by William Penn in the 17th century is a virtual ghost town.

Of the merchants who remain, most lock their doors before sundown. Crime is a problem here, evidenced by the pizza parlor a few blocks from City Hall where workers serve slices from behind a counter-to-ceiling wall of bulletproof glass.

The 37,000 people left in Chester are among the state's poorest residents. The city's schools have among the state's worst standardized test scores.

But a few people, like Clark, aren't convinced that gambling is the answer.

"I don't think anyone has factored in the social costs of this project," said Gene Foehl, a lawyer who coordinates volunteer programs in Chester and formerly operated a shelter there for homeless women.

Critics of gambling have long complained that it sucks dollars from the desperate poor, while creating mostly low-paying jobs with little opportunity for advancement.

"Are we now presenting some sort of temptation to people who are least able to afford that sort of problem?" Foehl said. "I think Atlantic City has been somewhat an example that (gambling) is not a cure-all."

Widener University economics professor Joe Fuhr said the track is almost certain to stimulate Chester's economy, but he noted that the city will see improvements slowly, and that the ultimate success of redevelopment will depend on its ability to attract other waterfront projects.

"It's a long haul thing. It may take 15 or 20 years," he said.

Groundbreaking on the track is scheduled to take place later this summer, once demolition of the old shipyard is complete. An opening is planned for late summer of 2004.