MGM Northfield Park (previously Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park) is a
racino
A racino is a combined race track and casino. In some cases, the gambling is limited to slot machines, but many locations are beginning to include Casino game#Table games, table games such as blackjack, poker, and roulette.
In 2003, Joe Bob Br ...
in
Northfield Northfield may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Northfield, Aberdeen, Scotland
* Northfield, Edinburgh, Scotland
* Northfield, Birmingham, England
* Northfield (Kettering BC Ward), Northamptonshire, England
United States
* Northfield, Connec ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, U.S.A., a community near
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
. Northfield Park conducts more than 200
harness racing
Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...
nights each year. It is owned by
Vici Properties
Vici Properties Inc. is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in casino properties, based in New York City. It was formed in 2017 as a spin-off from Caesars Entertainment Corporation as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. It owns ...
and operated by
MGM Resorts International
MGM Resorts International is an American global hospitality and entertainment company operating destination resorts in Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Detroit, Mississippi, Maryland, and New Jersey, including Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, and Pa ...
.
History
Originally constructed in 1934, Northfield Park racetrack was originally known as Sportsman Park, with a focus on
midget car racing
Midget cars, also speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small with a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on mos ...
. After 20 years as a successful car racing facility, interest began to wane and in 1956, Sportsman Park was demolished to make way for what would eventually become one of the nation's premier
harness racing
Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...
tracks under the leadership of Carl Milstein, a well known real estate developer and businessman. Carl Milstein purchased the track in 1972.
The tracks' top race, The Battle of Lake Erie, has featured some of the greatest pacers in history including Jaguar Spur,
Gallo Blue Chip
Gallo Blue Chip is a Standardbred harness racing horse who earned $4.2 million in total winnings during his racing career. Gallo Blue Chip's sire was Magical Mike, and his dam was Camatross. Magical Mike's sire was Tyler B., and his dam wa ...
,
Falcon Seelster and Riyadh. in 2007, the race was won by World Champion Maltese Artist, driven by Brett Miller in a world record time of 1:49.4 for the mile.
In early 2009, the Ohio Legislature initiated legislation that would allow each of the state's seven tracks, including Northfield, to install 2,000 slot machines under guidelines developed by the Ohio State Racing Commission. In July 2009, slot machines were approved, and were installed at Northfield Park pending the approval of Governor
John Kasich
John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician, author, and television news host who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and as the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Kasic ...
. Northfield Park's owner, Brock Milstein, contributed over $500,000 to the campaign to legalize slot machines. The racino, renamed as Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park, opened on December 18, 2013 with 2,300 video lottery terminals, under the management of
Hard Rock International
Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and r ...
.
In 2018,
MGM Growth Properties bought the property from Milstein Entertainment for $1.02 billion.
Hard Rock continued to operate the property under a management agreement with the new owners.
On April 1, 2019, MGM Growth's majority owner,
MGM Resorts International
MGM Resorts International is an American global hospitality and entertainment company operating destination resorts in Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Detroit, Mississippi, Maryland, and New Jersey, including Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, and Pa ...
, bought the Rocksino's operating business from MGM Growth for $275 million in stock, assumed control from Hard Rock, and rebranded the property as MGM Northfield Park. MGM Resorts would lease the property from MGM Growth for initial rent of $60 million per year.
Vici Properties
Vici Properties Inc. is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in casino properties, based in New York City. It was formed in 2017 as a spin-off from Caesars Entertainment Corporation as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. It owns ...
acquired MGM Growth, including Northfield Park, in 2022.
The track's nickname is "The Home of the Flying Turns" and its motto "Every nineteen minutes the place goes crazy".
Trackside Lounge
In the spring of 2008 Northfield Park constructed the Trackside Lounge. Trackside at Northfield Park is a state-of-the-art Sports Bar, featuring three-dozen flat-screen television monitors, private seating areas, full bar service and snack menu. In addition to Northfield’s full simulcast agenda, Trackside broadcasts major sporting events including Guardians, Cavaliers and Browns games, March Madness, the World Series, Super Bowl, NASCAR and more. The Trackside Barbecue features award-winning ribs, pulled pork sandwiches and more, and food from the barbecue can be brought into the Trackside Lounge, or eaten in the barbecue tent pavilion.
The RaceBook, a $600,000 companion renovation, mirrors the Trackside Lounge's design and elements, featuring hundreds of flat-screen tvs and private TV carrels or workstations. The RaceBook is the highlight of the track's simulcast area, where patrons wager on races from other tracks from around the world.
Cedar Downs
Cedar Downs is the only
off-track betting
Off-track betting (or OTB; in British English, off-course betting) is sanctioned gambling on horse racing outside a race track.
U.S. history
Before the 1970s, only the state of Nevada allowed off-track betting. Off-track betting in New York was ...
parlor in Ohio and is owned and operated by Northfield Park. Cedar Downs is located in
Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Erie County, Ohio, Erie County, Ohio, United States. Situated along the shores of Lake Erie in the northern part of the state, Sandusky is located roughly midway between Toledo, Ohio, Toledo ( wes ...
at the entrance to the Cedar Point Causeway. Northfield purchased the facility in the summer of 2005. It had previously been operated by
Raceway Park, a
Toledo harness track.
See also
*
Thistledown (racecourse)
Jack Thistledown Racino is a thoroughbred race track and casino in North Randall, Ohio, at the outskirts of the city of Cleveland. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Jack Entertainment.
History and Information
The track came under ...
References
External links
*
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Casinos in Ohio
Horse racing venues in Ohio
Harness racing venues in the United States
Buildings and structures in Summit County, Ohio
Sports venues in Ohio
Tourist attractions in Summit County, Ohio
1934 establishments in Ohio
MGM Resorts International
Casinos completed in 2013
Sports in Summit County, Ohio