The Clinton E. Phipps racetrack in St Thomas. Photo: SOUTHLAND GAMING

Currently in its fourth and final phase, the redevelopment of the Clinton E. Phipps racetrack on St Thomas is “technically 95% completed,” Mr. Edmond declared, listing the various milestones that have been achieved: receiving approvals for all required permits and receiving conditional use certificates for key buildings and areas “which allowed us to open up for the first races in over seven years,” he noted.

Since last year's races, the project has received certificates of occupancy on a host of structures; “the grandstand, the accessory buildings, the jockey locker room, the vet testing and saddling barn, the isolation bard, the equipment storage building, they pony barn and the secondary barn,” Mr. Edmonds listed out.

Turnover date 

The remaining work is expected to be completed in the coming weeks, he anticipated. “Our plan is to…have our turnover completed end of May, early June,” Mr. Edmonds disclosed.

With a slate of races scheduled to coincide with St. Thomas Carnival again in 2025, patrons will be able to experience the full grandeur of the racetrack, he promised. “We will be adjusting and opening up all of our open grandstand area like we did last time, but we have a whole lot more of the construction area opened up on the grandstand parking lots,” Mr. Edmonds said.

This will allow Southland Gaming to “really showcase the full opportunity of this facility to be opened up for the general public, and really emphasize the number of people that we can host to this facility,” he declared. Only a small area of the grounds will remain sectioned off to house miscellaneous materials retained for maintenance work or potential future projects, Mr. Edmonds noted.

Thanking stakeholders for their efforts in support of the project, Mr. Edmonds emphasized the efficiency with which the team has operated. “We've taken just about 26 months to complete a 42-month project. So very excited,” he noted, crediting the “combined efforts of everybody.”

VIHRC Chair Hugo Hodge Jr, thanked Mr. Edmonds for his presentation, which included a video walkthrough of the new racetrack facilities. “I definitely appreciate all the work that SGVI has done out there,” he remarked.