Off to the races

More than 100 people attended an informational meeting Sept. 25 at the Tucumcari Convention Center to hear Coronado Partners frontman Warren Frost answer questions from residents about a proposed $80 million horse-racing track and casino in Tucumcari.

Frost said after the meeting the number of people attending was "double" from a similar informational meeting 10 years ago, when his investor group tried to land a "racino" in Tucumcari that was awarded to Raton but never built. Extra chairs were set up outside a perimeter of 18 tables in the convention center's main ballroom.

The New Mexico Racing Commission officially will hear the group's pitch starting at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the Tucumcari Convention Center. Frost urged Quay County businesses to close and give their employees a chance to attend the hearing. Quay County announced last week it will close its courthouse in Tucumcari from 1:30 p.m. Thursday until the end of the hearing.

The commission also will hear from proposals in Lordsburg and Clovis for the state's sixth and final horse-racing license. The commission is expected to make a decision where to award the license before year's end.

"Really, I'm very optimistic about our chances," Frost said at the informational meeting.

Frost, a Logan attorney, also spoke to the Quay County Sun before the meeting about his group's proposal and his competitors. Other investors in Coronado Partners are Tom Krumland, who owns auto dealerships in Roswell and Carlsbad; former Nevada gaming executive Larry Tombari; and Dianne Chalmers, widow of original Coronado Partners organizer Don Chalmers, an Albuquerque car dealer.

Frost said the commission will let Coronado Partners give a 90-minute presentation at the hearing Thursday about its plan, which includes 600 slot machines, a 1-mile oval track with an extension for quarter-horse racing and possibly an infield amphitheater for concerts, a restaurant, a lounge and other features.

Members of the racing commission also will be in town Thursday morning to inspect the 330-acre site on Tucumcari's east side between Interstate 40 and Route 66. The Tucumcari racino would employ 300 people, plus another 100 during horse-racing season.

After the presentation, the commission will open the floor to public comments. Frost said people who wish to speak out must sign in before the hearing the convention center. He anticipated the commission would ask for brief comments - two to three minutes per person.

He said the mayors of Tucumcari, San Jon and Logan and another 20 people have signed up to speak at the hearing.

Frost was skeptical the commission would award a license to Lordsburg, in the southwest part of the state, because four large casinos exist in Tucson, Arizona, only 150 miles away.

Of the three applicants in Clovis, Frost also was skeptical of the Nevada-based Full House Resorts' proposal, which includes a grandstand that moves around the track at the same speed as the running horses.

"That's never been done before," he said of the moving grandstand. "I don't know how you'd hold on to your beer."

He said the other two Clovis proposals - by Clovis Racetrack and Casino and L&M Entertainment - "are not to be treated lightly." He said L&M is affiliated with the Route 66 Casino west of Albuquerque, and Clovis Racetrack, led by former Ruidoso Downs Race Track official Shaun Hubbard, is "someone to be reckoned with."

Frost said the Clovis proposals face hurdles, however.

Frost said Clovis racetrack applicants acknowledge $20 million of their annual income would come from Lubbock, Texas, visitors who now go to Zia Park Racetrack in Hobbs or Ruidoso Downs.

"The goal from the racing commission is to enhance racing in the state of New Mexico," Frost said. If the commission chose Clovis, "you essentially are cannibalizing from the Hobbs and Ruidoso tracks, which doesn't make any sense. If the goal is to enhance money going into New Mexico racing, why would they want to split up that pie?"

He said the Tucumcari proposal doesn't anticipate revenue from Lubbock but instead the Amarillo market. He said the racino would get 65 percent of its income from Amarillo - mainly because Texas doesn't have gaming.

"Amarillo is everything to this," Frost said.

Frost said Tucumcari also holds an advantage over Clovis with Interstate 40, which the New Mexico Department of Transportation says carries more than 14,000 vehicles a day.

"Clovis doesn't have anything similar to that," Frost said.

He said a typical racino needs only about 150 acres for its footprint, so Coronado Partners owning additional land is a big plus.

"What sets us apart is having that 180 additional acres for future development to enhance the property - hotels, perhaps an RV park, things of that nature," Frost said.

He said the racino would have two entrances off Route 66 and one off Mountain Road, which soon will be widened.

Frost said he's also wants the New Mexico Route 66 Museum, which sits in a wing of the Tucumcari Convention Center.

"We hope we can move that to the racetrack and enhance it substantially so it can be an additional draw," he said.

Frost said Tucumcari and Quay County are "united" in their support of the racino, while an opposition group - RaciNO - Clovis Racino Facts and Truth - emerged on Facebook against the Clovis projects.

"The Clovis opposition group, they're really getting after it," Frost said. "There's no organized opposition (against the Tucumcari plan) in Quay County."

Part of the reason Coronado Partners has encountered little resistance is because San Jon, Tucumcari, Logan and Quay County will receive 1 percent to 1.5 percent of the racino's yearly proceeds, Frost said.

For San Jon, he estimates that would be about $150,000 a year.

"That doesn't sound like a lot of money, but if you're San Jon and can't afford a police officer, $150,000 is a lot of money," he said.

One person asked whether closed businesses in Tucumcari would prove detrimental to the proposal. Frost acknowledged the lack of businesses is a "double-edged sword" but added: "One of our big arguments is this is a big economic tool in an area that needs economic development."

Frost said if the state awards the racino to Tucumcari, the project would require 13 months of construction. He anticipated a temporary casino building would be open within 120 days.

In an answer to a question, Frost said about one-third of the 400 jobs created by the racino would be imported from outside the area because of the expertise required. He added: "There's going to be plenty of jobs for everyone."

Frost said he anticipates a decision from the commission before Gov. Susana Martinez leaves office Dec. 31. He said he's optimistic about a fairer decision from the agency than the Raton choice 10 years ago, which he blamed on "sleazy politics."

"She's told the commission (the decision will be) based on merit, and I believe her," he said.