Delavan greyhound racetrack to close

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Delavan (AP) – 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.

Greyhound
tracks were created in a 1987 referendum that allowed for a state-run lottery
and the legalization of pari-mutuel betting.

Five dog tracks opened in the
early 1990s. Three eventually closed — the Fox Valley Greyhound Park in Kaukauna,
Wisconsin Dells Greyhound Park in Delton and the St. Croix Meadows Greyhound Racing
Park in Hudson.

Delavan City Administrator Betty Wassel was stunned when
she learned of the track’s closure.

“I’m very disappointed
for the city and for the people that work there,” Wassel said. “I would
certainly hope that there is something or someone looking to acquire the property.”

Wassel
said she knows of no potential investors considering buying the track.