As a member of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Colonial Downs Group is excited to share with you the milestones we have planned for 2019, the significant financial investment we are making in the Commonwealth and the great opportunities your businesses and employees will have to interact with us.
We have already pumped $80 million into Virginia’s economy, and we are just out of the gate! We will be investing another $220 million as we upgrade Colonial Downs racetrack in New Kent County and build new infrastructure for Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums in Richmond, Hampton, Vinton, New Kent and hopefully Chesapeake.
Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums are going to be vibrant, fun and entertaining venues that offer bar and dining services, satellite wagering on live horse races across North America and the new to Virginia historical horse racing machines approved by the General Assembly and Governor. We will have customer rewards programs at all of our Rosie’s locations that partner with local businesses. We want our customers to spend time with us, but also support other local businesses in the communities where we operate.
To get all this work done we are going to need many new teammates. Colonial Downs Group will be hiring more than 800 workers across the state and generating approximately $34 million in wages and benefits for Virginians. Our average employee salary and benefits package is $42,000.
We are doing all of this without any state incentives or subsidies. To the contrary, we will help reduce the strain on state and local budgets by generating $25 million annually in state taxes and $17 million annually in local taxes. Equally as important will be the $25 million annually we provide to Virginia’s horse industry that will help breeders, trainers, farmers and their many ancillary businesses.
The pinnacle of the year will be the return of thoroughbred horse racing to Virginia after a 5-year absence. The horses will take the track at Colonial Downs with 15 race dates beginning on August 8. August 30 will feature the return of the Virginia Oaks and on August 31, the Virginia Derby is back and better than ever. We hope to see you at the races!
For more information on developments and to stay in touch with our progress go to www.colonialdowns.com. We are proud to be part of the Virginia business community and our promise is to make you proud of us as well.
