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Arena partnership with Gala
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Wolverhampton Racino
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ARENA LEISURE PLC
ANNOUNCEMENT OF PARTNERSHIP WITH GALA GROUP TO DEVELOP UK'S FIRST RACECOURSE CASINO
Arena Leisure Plc ("Arena") is pleased to announce that it has reached agreement with Gala Group, one of the UK's largest gaming companies, to develop the UK's first joint racecourse and casino ("Racino") on Wolverhampton racecourse.
Under the agreement, Arena Leisure will build the Racino and Gala Group will fit-out, then operate the Racino under an exclusive 25 year lease agreement. Profits from the venture will be shared equally.
Wolverhampton racecourse is already located within an area where casino operations are permitted and therefore does not require any change in Gaming legislation.
A planning application is expected to be submitted to the local council within eight weeks, and, if successful, the development will commence later this year. The UK's first ever Racino is expected to be open in the autumn of 2004.
The development of 35,000 square feet will form part of a wider upgrade of the racecourse and on-site Holiday Inn hotel, and will also result in an expansion to 110 bedrooms for the hotel.
Ian Penrose, Group Managing Director of Arena, said:
"I am delighted to be partnered by Gala Group in this ground breaking venture to develop Wolverhampton racecourse into a more broadly-based leisure and gaming location. As Wolverhampton is the only UK racecourse with an all-weather track, floodlit racing and hotel, we are confident that the addition of a unique casino next year will make it an even more compelling customer proposition and also benefit the wider community."
John Kelly, Gala Group Chief Executive Officer, said:
"The economics of the Racino will be transformed by liberalisation of gaming and, as we have witnessed in the United States, the combination of a racecourse and a casino can be very successful. This deal proves the huge opportunity that is available following the Budd Report on gaming deregulation and demonstrates that Gala Group is well positioned to capitalise on these strategic alliances. This is one of the most exciting periods for our industry and this is the first
of many projects that we will be undertaking to grow the business in new areas."
For further information, please contact:
Ian Penrose
Group Managing Director
Arena Leisure Plc 020 7495 2277
David Rydell/Emma Kent/Miles Bake
Bell Pottinger Financial 020 7861 3232
Notes to Editors:
About Arena Leisure
Formed in 1997, Arena Leisure Plc is a leading racecourse operator, gaming technology provider and media rights owner. It is the UK's largest independent racecourse owner in terms of fixtures, hosting 1,661 races in 2002 at its six racecourses (22% of all British horseracing).
Together with its partners in attheraces, BSkyB and Channel 4, Arena acquired the majority of media rights to UK horseracing for a period of up to 10 years from July 2001. attheraces will exploit the media rights associated with live racing across all technology and media platforms and in many territories around the world. The first platform (www.attheraces.co.uk) went live on the internet in December 2001, and the attheraces interactive Digital Television Channel went live on Sky in May 2002 (channel 418). This was subsequently followed up by going live on ntl cable (channel 908) and Telewest (channel 534). attheraces also has a telephone betting service (0800 083 83 83).
In partnership with Scientific Games Corporation of the USA, Arena has developed TrackPlayTM gaming software. This software allows racing organisations to provide their customers with the ability to view live or archive races, research race information and place bets remotely. This software can be adapted for use on current and future technology platforms including the telephone, internet, interactive Digital Television and mobile devices.
Arena Leisure is listed on the London Stock Exchange. For more information about Arena, please visit www.arenaleisureplc.com.
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