Developing Suffolk
There have been ominous rumblings about the future of Suffolk Downs in the local press recently -- an article hinting at the possibility of more commercial development on land owned by the track appeared in the Boston Globe two weeks ago and a couple of stories in the Herald have mentioned the Celtics are considering Suffolk as a site for their new arena -- but nothing so alarming as what the Globe reported this morning:
"Steven Roth, the tough, entrepreneurial chief executive of giant Vornado Realty Trust, has his sights set on Boston's Suffolk Downs. And it is a better bet than any you could place at the struggling track that the opportunity he sees is not in a bunch of old men shouting at a TV screen and betting two bucks on a race at Aqueduct.
"Suffolk Downs is a dying business, and has been for years. But make no mistake: There is value there, and the smart money is lining up.
Live racing is scheduled to begin in April, and as a New England racing fan, I hope it's not the last year. If Suffolk Downs is sold for development, it effectively means the end of the sport not just in Boston, but in the region.
Posted by JC, Jan 14, 2005 11:45 AM
