Harness racing benefactor and property tycoon Kevin Seymour has unveiled plans to develop Brisbane’s Albion Park racetrack into a “world-class facility”.
The proposed development would not require any monetary input from Racing Queensland.
Albion Park Harness Racing Club would bear the costs of the work which would include high-end housing development, a new stand, a first-class gaming facility, community hub and football field in the centre of the track.
The move is the latest in the battle between RQ and the harness industry over the prized property, with both parties at odds over who is the legal owner of the land.
Mr Seymour is convinced the club is the rightful owner of the venue and the deal is contingent on RQ agreeing to this. He believes harness racing has the moral high ground because it owned the venue until the merger of the three codes in 2010.
His proposal comes only weeks after the club claimed it was blindsided by RQ over their plans to demolish the racetrack and build a commercial, residential and retail hub on the site worth an estimated $100 million.
RQ chief executive Dr Eliot Forbes last month said RQ’s plan to redevelop the site was needed to provide another revenue stream for the cash-strapped body.
“The ongoing sustainability and growth of racing in Queensland depends on the generation of non-racing revenue and the full realisation of commercial opportunities,” he said.
Mr Seymour disagreed, saying his proposed development would “launch harness racing into the next century”.
He said there would be numerous revenue streams from the housing development and gaming machines, along with the return of the famous Silks restaurant and bar turnover.
“If you build facilities that are as good, if not better than other things in the area, people will come to it,” he said.
“Any money raised at the facility would be put back into harness racing, making it stronger.
“The big thing is the Harness Racing Club is not asking for any money. It’s a no brainier for harness racing in Queensland.”
Breeders, Owners, Trainers & Reinspersons Association president Dan Costello described such a development as equivalent to that of Eagle Farm recently for thoroughbreds.
“It’s great for the industry and it’s clear this sort of development will secure a future for harness racing,” he said.
The plan is on an American model where race clubs with poker machines are able to pay twice the prize money for racing than those without them.
Proposed also in the development is the construction of a new RQ headquarters, allowing them to move out of the dated Deagon facility.
Mr Seymour insists his development plan will pass all local government and planning requirements.
The track was first constructed in 1893 before it was bought out by underworld figure John Wren in 1910.
Trenton Akers, The Courier-Mail