Canada: Proposed mega-casino by BC Place draws huge public interest

At least 160 people have signed up to speak for or against the proposal by Paragon Gaming and PavCo, the crown corporation that operates BC Place.

Vancouver city staff said so many people have signed up to speak on those issues first that it is not possible for council to get to the larger issue of the casino this week.
As a result, they've moved the casino portion over to March 7. They've also scheduled Thursday night to hear the rest of those speakers to the Concord and False Creek North proposals.

The contentious proposal to expand an existing casino license and turn it into Western Canada's largest gambling palace is at the end of a series of four related rezoning that council began hearing last week. The hearings resume tonight.

But before the casino application can be heard, the city has to deal with the other rezoning, which include changing the False Creek North official development plan and some land-swaps that Concord Pacific wants in order to build towers at the north end of Cambie Bridge.

PavCo and Paragon Gaming have positioned the casino application as the creation of an entertainment development that includes two hotel towers and would compliment the refurbishment of BC Place. They also say the facility would generate about US$6-8 million a year in fees for PavCo to retire the US$583 million BC Place roof replacement program.

Opponents claim the new casino will have a major negative impact on the city's social fabric and that it will generate few benefits for the city. At 1,500 slot machines, it would be the largest of its kind in Western Canada but the opponents dismiss PavCo's claim that it would become an international destination casino.

The city would receive between US$10-17 million a year depending upon the casino's profit.