Beyond the promises of state aid, jobs and added tourism dollars for the region, the gaming bill passed in the House last week has the potential to change the landscape along heavily traveled Route 1A.
Suffolk Downs, the East Boston racetrack, has made no secret of its interest in obtaining one of the two casino licenses the bill would make available.
Chip Tuttle, chief operating officer of Suffolk Downs, said this week that even with the House bill they're a "long way from the finish."
"We're certainly not counting on anything at this point," he said.
But a North of Boston casino could potentially affect area residents and businesses who rely on the roadway to get to Boston and Logan International Airport, an issue that legislators and municipal and business leaders hope will be weighed carefully.
"One of the key assets on the North Shore, when I talk to the business community, is our ability to access Logan Airport pretty effortlessly," said Bill Luster, executive director of the North Shore Alliance for Economic Development.
The House passed the gaming bill, 120-37, on April 14. It now goes to the Senate, which is unlikely to take up its own bill until after the Senate budget is released the last week of May, said David Falcone, a spokesman for Senate President Therese Murray.
Language in the House bill requires infrastructure improvements to any area chosen for one of the two casino licenses. It's a requirement that local stakeholders hope to preserve in any eventual law, and one Suffolk Downs is willing to address.
"As a North Shore resident and as somebody who wants to make sure our potential development works for the area, we are looking very closely at traffic and infrastructure issues," said Tuttle, who lives in Salem.
Roadwork needed
Tuttle said the racetrack had already begun investigating improvements to the Route 1A corridor as part of a potential development. He noted that Suffolk Downs established a partnership with Wonderland Greyhound Park in March 2008, meaning the two would apply for just one license.
"We're committed to making improvements commensurate with or greater than the potential impact on the traffic," he said. "We have a situation that's deteriorated over 25 years. Short of a development like ours stepping up to make some of these improvements get made, it's hard to see where else that might be coming from."
Rep. Joyce Spiliotis, D-Peabody, who supported the bill but was away at her nephew's wedding for the vote, said she had reservations about the impact of any North of Boston casino on the host community and its neighbors. She also worried about how a casino would affect traffic and access to Logan.
"Obviously, there'd have to be an awful lot of mitigation and roadwork done," she said. "There are international flights that come in and out of there."
Spiliotis said North Shore businesses and hotels attract tourists who need easy access to the airport.
If Suffolk Downs is selected as one of the casino sites, the impact on traffic and the community will be top among the gaming commission's concerns, said Rep. John Keenan, D-Salem.
"We're all very concerned about the potential impact of getting into Boston and most particularly to the airport," said Keenan, who drives Route 1A into Boston.
Boost for tourism
In the meantime, Keenan welcomed the bill's passage, because it could bring revenue to every city and town in the form of local aid and help support regional tourism councils.
Salem, for example, stands to reap an estimated $650,000 in state funds, according to Keenan.
The House bill would also raise an initial $3 million for agencies like the North of Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau and provide continued funding from 1 percent — or an estimated $4 million to $6 million a year — of the gross gaming revenue, Keenan said.
Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll said the local tourist industry could also benefit from a Boston-area casino. Boston convention attendees could easily head north to Salem by car, train or ferry.
"Not all of them want to be trapped in a casino," she said. "It's a short hop, skip and jump to Salem. I think there's an opportunity to take a percentage of some of the new tourism coming to the city of Boston."
There's also the lure of more jobs. Luster estimated as many as 3,000 jobs could be created by a nearby casino.
He was encouraged by the bill, specifically in addressing a casino's impact on transportation, and its potential for work-force training and contract opportunities for small local businesses.
Rep. Mary Grant, D-Beverly, said she views the gaming bill as a boon for entertainment, tourism and jobs. Though not her first choice for job creation, she said she understands that many people have been out of work for a long time.
And she appreciates the fact that the bill provided for increased local aid.
"We did deal with the local aid in this bill, which was never dealt with before," Grant said.
While gaming has the potential to bring jobs and funds to the region, Rep. Ted Spiliotis, D-Danvers, said that it also can provide entertainment, especially for seniors.
"When I talk to people, it's more about access," he said. "It's entertainment for an awful lot of people. We all know it's a losing proposition, but they enjoy it."
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