HOT SPRINGS -- Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort is making steady progress on its more than $100 million expansion, and Oaklawn Media Relations Manager Jennifer Hoyt said people will begin to really see the "vision" in the next few weeks.
Many of the completion deadlines are approaching, she said.
A lot of progress has been made on the parking lot and casino building, a six-barn reconstruction and a new Track Kitchen restaurant, she said.
The casino expansion is expected to be complete Jan. 24, and in the next couple of weeks the steelwork for the floor will be going in, and framing and roofing will begin, Hoyt said.
"It's 28,000 square feet of extra casino space, which will allow us to increase our live tables. We will be expanding the high-limit area, and that's going to be really cool," she said. The high-limit area will be at the front of the building and feature a balcony that overlooks Central Avenue.
The parking-lot work will add 280 parking spots and should be complete in the next three weeks, Hoyt said.
She said the six-barn rebuild will be complete by Nov. 25.
"Three barns are pretty much done, one barn is in the process of getting the roof on and the other two are getting close," she said. The facility will have capacity for more than 1,550 horses. "And that's really what we want for our race meet, it's a really good number, it keeps our field sizes strong."
Framing for the new Track Kitchen began last week, she said, and the restaurant is expected to open in late November or early December.
"It will remain open to the public, and it's going to have the same log-cabin look that the other Track Kitchen had. It's going to have the same seating capacity, but it will be a little bit more convenient. ... Especially on race days [because] it will have a dedicated parking lot." Patrons won't have to fight traffic to be able to eat there, she said.
On a hotel portion of the expansion, the only work that's been completed is an elevator shaft and stairwell, but the steel structure is to begin this week.
Hoyt said the entire expansion project is expected to be complete by late January 2021.
Construction is expected to be constant, even through the horse racing seasons, and special provisions will be made for the horses, she said.
Metro on 08/19/2019