Bristol, PA northeast of Philadelphia

Late last week, Bristol, PA Mayor Sam Fenton announced that luring Foxwoods from Philadelphia could be a “potential home run for Bristol Township.” Fenton mainly has money on his mind. The mayor speaking at a council meeting said that the casino could solve his city’s budget problems and enliven local business. The Bucks County Courier Times reports it’s an unlikely scenario since the state’s gaming laws would have to be amended because no two casinos can be within 10 miles of one another. Bristol and Bensalem, where Philadelphia Park Casino is located, are about seven miles apart.

Philadelphia Park Casino in Bensalem, PA

Fenton is probably envious of the windfall Bensalem is seeing from having a casino. The Courier Times reports Township officials there said they’ll apply for $875,000 in casino impact grants to pay for ambulances, after-school programs, addiction counseling, graffiti cleanup, and the beautification of Route 13.

A total of $2.5 million in casino impact grants is available to host town Bensalem and the neighboring communities of Bristol Township, Hulmeville, Lower Southampton and Middletown from Philadelphia Park Casino.

To top it off, last month, Bensalem homeowners were told they would get a $250 check as an added perk for having the racino there.

Foxwoods Casino has no plans to move to Bristol, but instead it is exploring with the support of Philadelphia city officials to try to build on top of The Gallery Mall in Center City. But even this is not a done deal, since the logistics of a CC site pose many problems for nearby residents and for the developer. For the developer, the site at 10th and Market street is such a small footprint that it won’t be easy for Foxwoods to build a large parking garage and one of things that gamblers cite repeatedly is they want free parking.

Current plan has Foxwoods being built above a downtown Philadelphia mall

For a fascinating read, check out this section of the Philadelphia Gaming Task Force report assessing the pros and cons of potential casino sites in Philadelphia. If you read the first part about the three Center City sites you can get a better understanding of what challenges both Foxwoods and the nearby residents are likely to face. Thanks to PlanPhilly for posting this.

Frank DiCicco

Parking is one of the issues that City officials are currently grappling with as they look at the current zoning for The Gallery area. An aide to City Councilman Frank DiCicco says as it stands  “The parking requirements don’t fit a Center City location,”