College Township is only 4.5 miles from State College, so the casino would create jobs for both cities.
Four cities in the Centre Region of Pennsylvania have passed resolutions to ban satellite casinos, but College Township is not one of them. College Township is one of two Pennsylvania municipalities, alongside the Borough of State College, where Penn State University is located.
College Township’s city leaders say they have not been contacted about hosting one of the ten Category 4 casinos, usually called mini-casinos or satellite casinos. In October, Pennsylvania passed a massive gambling expansion which included truck stop gambling machines, airport terminal tablet computer betting, online casinos, online poker sites, and satellite casinos.
The recently-adopted law created a 25-mile radius exclusion zone around already-existing casinos. In Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, the overlapping exclusion zones mean that operators are excluded from building within 50 to 125 miles of a major city. The idea is to build mini-casinos in the outlying regions of Pennsylvania, to spur local economies by creating jobs in construction and gaming. It helps that state, county, and local governments receive tax revenues from the mini-casinos.
Centre Region Cities Reject Casinos
Dozens of smaller cities and towns throughout Pennsylvania have embraced the idea of satellite casinos; many others have not. In the Centre Region, cities which do not want to encourage social problems or a supposed increase in crime rates have passed satellite casino bans.
State College and Ferguson Township have passed bans already, while Harris Township and Patton Township are set to decide on banning casinos — and their leaders are expected to pass bans.
College Township Embrace Mini-Casino Idea
College Township’s are leaning the other direction. In fact, they appear ready to embrace satellite casinos, which they think will reinvigorate the development of Nittany Mall. The Nittany Mall, which was built in 1968, remains the only mall in the Centre Region. It has 4 anchor stores and 75 other retail outlets, though residents have speculated that newer malls might be built nearby over the years.
Thus, College Township’s leaders would like to house a satellite casino inside the Nittany Mall, as a way to sustain the site’s viability.
College Township City Manager Adam Brumbaugh wrote to other members of the city council, saying, “Given the ongoing economic struggles of the Nittany Mall and, that the only viable location for a gaming establishment in College Township is portions of the Nittany Mall, and coupled with the fact that all other Centre Region municipalities have opted out of hosting a Category 4 casino — excepting Halfmoon Township — the Manager strongly believes that casino gaming could be a true and powerful opportunity to redevelop both the Nittany Mall property as well as surrounding commercially zoned properties.”
Jake Corman Touted State College Casino
College Township and State College, which each include parts of the Penn State campus, are collectively called “Happy Valley”. The Centre region has a combined population a little over 100,000 people, while the State College-DuBois Combined Statistical Area has 236,000 people. State College has a little over 42,000 residents, while College Township has a population between 6,000 and 7,000 people.
Pennsylvania State Senate President Jake Corman stated soon after the gambling bill was signed that State College would be a natural place for a satellite casino. State College’s city leaders rejected that option, instead passing laws to keep a casino out of the municipality.
Happy Valley Satellite Casino
That does nothing to stop College Township from accepting a casino. In fact, as the nearest municipality to State College, it is the natural choice for casino developers who want to build near Penn State University, but cannot get into State College. Thus, State College might see all the downside of a casino operator near them, without the upside of tax revenues.
Of course, when the two cities are only 4.5 miles apart, State College would still incur many of the benefits. Due to the fact it has 7 times the population of College Township, State College residents likely would receive the bulk of the jobs created by a Nittany Mall casino.
