Developers say casino location north of city could be in the cards

'We are definitely looking at that site, it is very much of interest to us but we do not have a signed agreement of purchase and sale at this point and time'

File photo

Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited continues to play a waiting game in hopes of securing a location for a new North Bay area Casino.

One location is the former Nordfibre location across from the North Bay Regional Health Centre on Highway 17 West.

“We are definitely looking at that site, it is very much of interest to us but we do not have a signed agreement of purchase and sale at this point and time,” stated Rob Mitchell, Gateway Casinos & Entertainment spokesman.

Mitchell was commenting on a re-zoning change that was requested by the owner of the Nordfibre property possibly as the first step securing an ideal location off the main highway west of the city.

And securing a site is definitely the next big step in the process.

“So we can not really do much until we get a site but that is definitely a site that is under consideration and hopefully it will be zoned appropriately, but we are still a long ways off from putting shovels in the ground,” added Mitchell.

Back in June, the company turned its nose up on the idea of building a Casino at the old Mo-ze location south of the city.

“We are still looking at a number of sites in North Bay and we are very excited to be in North Bay and hopefully we will land on a location and then we can start to plan for the future and look at what kind of casino we can build in North Bay,” Mitchell continued.

Mitchell would not elaborate on any other potential destinations for the Casino and no timeline can be given until a location is secured.

Mitchell did elaborate on Gateway’s location priorities.

“Parking is always important, we have to be able to accommodate our customers,” he said. would be part of a development that would include a big box store.

“We will plan accordingly when we land on a location. A lot of where we locate will determine the shape and form of what we build. We certainly have a design in mind and we are very excited about it but it would be premature to indicate anything more until we actually land on a location.”

There is speculation that a casino on Highway 17 will be part of a development that will include a big box store.