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Good-Bye Coney? River Downs Racino Looming


pilotank
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Coney has NOT sold land to River Downs. In fact, Coney`s next door neighbor isn`t even River Downs. It is Riverbend. Riverbend owns a plot of land from the Ohio River all the way up to Kellogg. (Albeit, this plot of land is only about 25' in the parking lots between Coney`s parking lot and River Downs` parking lot.)

There will be implications, as others have mentioned, where will all the cars park. Especially when construction is going on for the new Racino. Will this development impact Coney, yes! Will it force Coney to close or be overcome by the new Racino, I think not.

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But it may well, and probably will, affect the park's future and how it does business.

Hopefully in a positive way! Parking no doubt will be one of the biggest problems especially for sold out concerts or those busy days at Coney. Makes you wonder what kind of solutions can they make being land locked like that, parking garage maybe who knows!

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Essentially, the land that Riverbend sits on used to belong to Coney (and Taft Broadcasting). The land was donated (Riverbend is actually owned by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra) to the symphony for the original Riverbend music center.

Other than the RSVIP/accessible parking, there is no parking lot on Riverbend property. As such, it was only right that Coney, which had the parking infrastructure in place, handle the parking. Coney does get revenue from the parking for concerts (every concert at Riverbend has a "facility use" fee, part of which goes to pay for the parking. When you go to a concert at Riverbend, no parking money is collected when you park in the Coney lots for this reason.

Additionally, all the concession stands at Riverbend are actually operated by Coney. And in turn Coney gets money from this. These arrangements were part of the deal for Coney donating the land to Riverbend. And when the smaller PNC Pavilion was built several years back, Coney donated some more land to Riverbend.

The new racino indeed has impacted how Coney does business and its future plans. Which will only become more evident as the months go by. Being careful not to say too much.

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Could we hear who these sources are and do you have a link to the marina plans? I'd love to see those/hear more about that.

I wish I could, but they do work on any developing projects in Hamilton County.

Also, one is in Public Safety.

The Marina came into conversation initally because there is a perception of a great deal of boat traffic coming to the Racino in the summer.

Also, since it is only a racino, any casino style gambling would have to be conducted off site.

But that would be way down the road.

pilotank

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According to the way the state constitution is written, and the way the voters approved the amendment, the only casino style gambling that can be conducted in the state (outside of the slot machines at the racinos), must occur at the four casinos that have or will open in the state. And since Cincinnati is getting a casino, one has to wonder what impact that will have on River Down`s plans. I too have heard some grand schemes about their plans and that to the owners, money is no object.

It will be interesting to see what develops. Stay tuned...

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And given where the boundary between Ohio and Kentucky lies (the low water mark on the northerly side of the river as it existed in 1792 is where KENTUCKY ends....)

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/OhioGeologicalSurvey/Publications/OhioKentuckyBoundaryMaps/tabid/22483/Default.aspx

Not to mention, doesn't the Army Core of Engineers have overall say of what gets built on the river?

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According to the way the state constitution is written, and the way the voters approved the amendment, the only casino style gambling that can be conducted in the state (outside of the slot machines at the racinos), must occur at the four casinos that have or will open in the state. And since Cincinnati is getting a casino, one has to wonder what impact that will have on River Down`s plans. I too have heard some grand schemes about their plans and that to the owners, money is no object.

It will be interesting to see what develops. Stay tuned...

Coasters RZ,

I was wondering if you have heard anything about the ownership regarding Brenda Walker?

Does she still own CI or has it been turned over to other family members?

The owners seem to be very quiet regarding the future.

The problem I see is that CI has maintained a very friendly family environment.

How will this affect the perception?

pilotank

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Brenda Walker and her family still own the park. She has a very hands off method of ownership and lets Coneys full time staff run and manage the park. As other posters have said, she occasionally makes visits to the park. I personally have not met or seen her at the park.

As of Friday morning, I haven`t seen any wrecking crews not to say they weren`t there as it had been foggy the last couple of mornings. I drive by Coney every morning on my way into work downtown. And I still do not get why you are calling this carnage. Yes, they will be building a new racino, but they are not building a full fledged casino, and they are not taking over Coney. I don`t think the Racino will have a negative impact on Coney`s perception at all. I mean, people have been allowed to bet on horse racing at River Downs. Its not like it is introducing gambling for the first time. Additionally, there are several concerts every year that can bring a rough crowd out to Riverbend, and when they park they have to walk through Coney`s grounds.

I think that you are blowing this way out of proportion. Not to mention you come off sounding like you actually work for the park and know the fate of its demise and the ins and outs of its business. You do not work for Coney. Coney isn`t going anywhere any time soon. It has survived floods, recessions, segregation, and many more things. Its safe to say that a change in venue and new building on some neighboring property will not cause Coney to close.

It is clear that you have already passed judgement on these new plans for Riverdowns as being detrimental to not only Coney Island, but Anderson Township. I suggest you take a wait and see attitude towards this, and quit voicing your incorrect suggestions that this is going to be the end of Coney. Those are your opinions and not the opinions of Coney ownership or staff members. Sometimes it is wise to just sit back and watch how things unfold and not be vocal with your opinions.

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Brenda Walker and her family still own the park. She has a very hands off method of ownership and lets Coneys full time staff run and manage the park. As other posters have said, she occasionally makes visits to the park. I personally have not met or seen her at the park.

As of Friday morning, I haven`t seen any wrecking crews not to say they weren`t there as it had been foggy the last couple of mornings. I drive by Coney every morning on my way into work downtown. And I still do not get why you are calling this carnage. Yes, they will be building a new racino, but they are not building a full fledged casino, and they are not taking over Coney. I don`t think the Racino will have a negative impact on Coney`s perception at all. I mean, people have been allowed to bet on horse racing at River Downs. Its not like it is introducing gambling for the first time. Additionally, there are several concerts every year that can bring a rough crowd out to Riverbend, and when they park they have to walk through Coney`s grounds.

I think that you are blowing this way out of proportion. Not to mention you come off sounding like you actually work for the park and know the fate of its demise and the ins and outs of its business. You do not work for Coney. Coney isn`t going anywhere any time soon. It has survived floods, recessions, segregation, and many more things. Its safe to say that a change in venue and new building on some neighboring property will not cause Coney to close.

It is clear that you have already passed judgement on these new plans for Riverdowns as being detrimental to not only Coney Island, but Anderson Township. I suggest you take a wait and see attitude towards this, and quit voicing your incorrect suggestions that this is going to be the end of Coney. Those are your opinions and not the opinions of Coney ownership or staff members. Sometimes it is wise to just sit back and watch how things unfold and not be vocal with your opinions.

Actually, now you are putting words about what I think.

Number one, this is actually going to be an economic boost to Anderson Township.

The Racino will bring more taxable revenue to Hamilton Co. than CI could do in 10 years.

Not to mention the job creation involved here. I merely asked the question to

the members of this forum what their opinion is, and whether CI will ever be the same.

I actually have been going to Coney for over 40 years, my parents before that and my grandparents before that.

Our family has over eight season pass holders since 1982.

My brother-in law actually is a vendor for CI and I work all the major events.

My brother is an archaeologist and has conducted Indian Research at CI.

So I do have a great interest in what happens.

I would like nothing more to see CI flourish and be around for my grandkids.

With that being said, what keeps CI going is it's pool. The rides are secondary along with the picnic area for corporations.

My two girls take swim lessons, and you should hear the complaints from patrons when concerts interfere with getting their kids

to the lessons on time. Parking is a nightmare now when Riverbend has a major event.

My point of view is that this will damage the very fabric that keeps CI going.

Isn't this forum for voicing one's opinion?

pilotank

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It has begun! :(

O'Rourke Wrecking Company has set up a staging area in the RD's parking lot.

There are cranes, earth movers and bull dozers ready to go.

Let the carnage begin.

pilotank

You do realize those construction materials aren't there to destroy Coney, right?

The Racino will bring more taxable revenue to Hamilton Co. than CI could do in 10 years.

Please strop trying to insinuate that this is an "either/or" situation. The construction of the Racino is not going to force Coney to close, all your thoughts on that are pure speculation.

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Thank you Gordon!

I was not trying to put words in your mouth. I was simply stating that you seem to think that construction and the new racing mean the end of coney. It does not.

And yes members are free to post their opinions on these forums. But when you start sounding like you have sources and know people and stating things as fact which are not fact, is where I have an issue. Yes, you do support Coney and it is people like you that help keep Coney as a going concern.

Most swim lessons are held in the mornings before any concert traffic becomes an issue. Not to say there aren't some swim lessons held in the evenings or there aren't some concerts that start earlier in the day. But keep in min that Coney benefits from these concerts.

Yes, Sunlite pool is one of the main draws to Coney. Especially since they haven't really added any signature or big ride in recent years to the dry side. We got Swing A Round last year and River Runner, the last major ride, came in 2008. If they were willing to put a big ride in, I think it could certainly help draw people to the rides side. Coney did very well this year, especially with events like the fireworks competition. Coney will be around for generations more to enjoy. Just like Kings Island, Coney will be a different place ten years from now than it is today, but it will still be an amusement park creating memories for scores of families of Cincinnati residents.

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