"We'll look at the legal and financial ramifications, and see what we can put together," said Jim Rasmussen, the racing association's chairman. "I don't think we can put together an offer by the (Oct. 24), but we will have something to present to our board."The biggest question to be answered is whether the racing association can put together a format that makes it more attractive to the county to sell Prairie Meadows than to lease it. The racing association has said its income is shrinking as taxes and expenses rise."It's possible at the end of the day, we decide that we don't have a pool of money in which to make an offer," said Tom Flynn, the racing association's attorney. "Our board doesn't know for sure what we'll end up with after we go through this process."The track and casino are owned by Polk County, but the facility is managed by the not-for-profit racing association, which has the gambling license. Prairie Meadows has paid the county an average of $28 million a year in rent and profits, but with expenses and taxes rising, that total is expected to shrink starting next year.Two of five Polk County supervisors have saidthey favor sale of the track rather than a lease. None of the supervisors have said they would sell Prairie Meadows for less than $150 million. Racing association members have said Prairie Meadows' value has gone down since Circus Circus talked about paying $250 million up front for the facility in 1996.
"Given the financial position of the gaming industry today, there would be no way that they'd match that amount of money," racing association member John Lundberg said.
Another incentive for the county to sell may be to rid itself of the endless steam of controversy that Prairie Meadows seems to yield.
