Greyhound
Track to Close
Financial woes will force
the Geneva Lakes Greyhound Track to close in November
after more than 15 years of operation, the racetrack's
general manager said.
The closing Nov. 6 will leave Wisconsin
with one greyhound track, Dairyland Greyhound Park
in Kenosha.
"The operation is simply not financially sustainable
any longer," according to a letter to Geneva
Lakes workers from track general manager Milt Roth.
About 200 workers will lose their jobs, Roth said.
The track, which opened in 1990, contracts with
about 75 kennel owners.
Roth said the track lost customers and revenue
to casinos, and he also cited Gov. Jim Doyle's recent
veto of "instant racing simulcast machines,"
video game-like machines that let users bet on prerecorded
races.
"We have no hope," Roth said. "We
can't compete against (casinos). There's nothing
we can do."
The track's attendance declined about 8 percent
this year compared with last year, when the track
attracted 182,054 visitors, Roth said. According
to the track's 2005 license application with the
state, the track predicted after-tax income losses
of $3.5 million.
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