Proponents of the statewide gambling issue on this November's ballot are betting on voters' desire to keep dollars in Ohio and put them toward education. But such issues are never that simple. That's exactly the discussion the Deal Maker Forum hopes to engender with its annual breakfast presentation on Oct. 24 from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. in the ballroom of the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel.
"This is an issue that will impact economic development," says Bill Gagliano, chair of the real estate practice group at Ulmer & Berne LLP, one of the event's sponsors along with CB Richard Ellis, Inside Business and LaSalle Bank. "That impact could be negative or it could be positive, so we hope people come away with some answers to that question."
"There are enough negatives associated with these kinds of developments," says Ulmer & Berne's Craig Miller. "So, when cities negotiate with casino gambling interests, it's very important to make sure that the revenue and economic development components present the best possible return."
Gagliano says that while the issue has been raised many times in the recent past, now that it is actually on the ballot, the electors of the state have a responsibility to reflect on all of the potential impacts before casting their votes. The current proposal projects billions of dollars that would be taken from the profits of gambling operations and invested into the educational system of Ohio.
"There's an opportunity to basically stem the flow of gambling dollars of Ohioans that's currently going outside of the state to Canada or Detroit, New York or Indiana," he says. "So passing the issue would help keep those dollars in Ohio and also provide a funding source for education."
On the local economic development side, passing of this ballot initiative would likely result in the addition of slot parlors at Northfield Race Track and at an undetermined location in downtown Cleveland. "From a real estate perspective, we think that this will certainly impact commercial development in the area, especially wherever the downtown or Cleveland-based gambling facility would be located," Gagliano says.
To address both sides of the issue, this year's forum will feature two national spokespeople: Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., president of the American Gaming Association, and Tom Grey, a Methodist minister who is executive director of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, which opposes gambling, essentially, because of its connections to addiction, bankruptcy and crime. Both organizations are located in Washington, D.C.
The former national chairman of the Republican Party, Fahrenkopf heads the trade group for casinos and other organizations engaged in gaming. "Fahrenkopf is recognized as the number one lobbying representative in the country for the gaming industry in connection with ballot issues and all of the political issues that affect that industry," Gagliano says. Grey, on the other hand, represents the primary organization that argues against ballot issues geared toward legalizing gambling, especially in states that may not already have gambling. (Ohio has had the state lottery for more than 30 years, Gagliano points out.)
"Grey has butted heads with Fahrenkopf a number of times," he adds.
Although the Deal Maker Forum draws its audience primarily from the commercial real estate brokerage, banking, developer and construction industries, along with public officials and other local business professionals, the forum is intended to focus on important civic issues that will affect the Northeast Ohio community. The previous six forums have addressed a variety of issues. At the first forum in 2000, Chuck Ratner, CEO of Forest City Enterprises Inc., discussed the company's local and national development projects, while the next forum featured a discussion of the redevelopment of inner-ring suburbs, including a representative from the Brookings Institute who talked about urban policy and development in an inner-ring community.
The following year, newly appointed president of Case Western Reserve University, Edward Hundert, revealed his vision for the university, and in 2003, the topic was retail development throughout the region, from the just-opened Legacy Village in Lyndhurst to the under-construction Crocker Park in Westlake. The forum in 2004 centered around the hot topic of convention centers and whether or not they could serve as an effective economic engine to transform the city. Mark Rosentraub, dean of the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University and Mark Levine, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, took opposing sides on the issue. Last year, Mayor Richard Daley from Chicago was the sole speaker, and the charismatic civic leader regaled the attendees with facts and figures of the Windy City's redevelopment.
"His talk was very enlightening," Gagliano recalls. "A lot of people came away thinking that many of those approaches that Chicago took toward addressing economic development were ones that we could easily adopt here."
The Deal Maker Forum, which typically draws 500 to 600 people, is also a substantial networking opportunity. A broad spectrum of the business, real estate and government sectors of Cleveland attend, and though the doors don't officially open until 8 a.m., many people arrive by 7:15 a.m., according to Gagliano, so that they can network. He also assures that the breakfast, speakers and Q&A session are well regimented so that everyone can be out the door by 9:30 a.m. and back to their workday.
"Because of the nature of our civic-oriented topics and the discussions at the forum, we get a wide variety of people who attend," Gagliano says. "But everyone has an interest in economic development and real estate in Northeast Ohio."
For additional information, contact Karolyn Isenhart at Ulmer & Berne LLP at 216-583-7308 or kisenhart@ulmer.com or visit www.ulmer.com
More articles for Gaming in Ohio:
Roll the Dice
Taking a Stand
The Stakes Are High
On the Bright Side