Western Fair District to see casino renovation following lease agreement

The casino at the Western Fair District will be holding onto its location for the foreseeable future despite previously looking to expand in a different location.

In a statement, Gateway Casino and Entertainment said it has reached an agreement and extended its lease with the fairgrounds.

“We are currently working on our future development plans for Gateway Casinos London that will see us expand our existing footprint,” said Grant Darling, senior vice-president of operations for Gateway Casinos Ontario.

In 2018, following stalled lease negotiations with the Western Fair District, Gateway rolled the dice and announced interest in building a new $75-million casino on Wonderland Road South. The plan was to employ 700 new people and generate an estimated $2.5 million in tax revenue for city hall, along with an additional $4.5 million in revenue sharing from the Ontario Lottery Gaming Corp.

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City council approved the 10,000-square-foot project in July 2018, however, rezoning of the property paused and ultimately stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Now, Gateway plans to expand and renovate its current location at the Western Fair District, but details have yet to be finalized.

“I can confirm that we are definitely staying at the fairground, and we have come to an agreement with fairground management and the senior management team there, and we are going to be a fixture at the fairground for many years to come,” said Rob Mitchell, director of communications and public affairs for Gateway.

Reg Ash, CEO of the Western Fair District, told Global News the expansion is going to take some more square footage within the Grandstand.

“They’re working through what those plans look like, and as their announcement said, they’ll have more details to share in a few months,” he said. “We’re excited about their decision to stay put and invest in the district.”

Mitchell said that despite having “struggles” with the fairgrounds many years ago, Gateway Casinos is also very excited to be growing its partnership with the Western Fair District along with the expansion of their space.

“We looked at our bottom line and we were able to negotiate a much better lease arrangement,” Mitchell said. “So, it was kind of a convergence of things that made it a very positive decision for us in the long term to remain at the fairground site.

“We’ve always had a great relationship with the city of London.”

Darling said Gateway Casinos “continue to appreciate the ongoing co-operation and partnership of Western Fair with our current operations and the planning efforts for our future expansion at the fairgrounds.”