With only seven days until the Pittsburgh Gaming Commission awards a gaming
license to one of three slots competitors, concerns about traffic problems
have risen to the forefront. City officials are concerned that, regardless
of the casino location, congestion and parking issues will be major problems
because of Pittsburgh’s many bridges, tunnels, rivers and outdated highway
networks. Isle of Capri has pledged $290 million toward the project, which
includes building a new arena to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh. The
proposed site of the temporary casino would be built in a parking lot above
Mellon Arena and below Crawford Square, less than a half-mile from Duquesne
University. According to a Dec. 10 issue of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
however, Isle of Capri has estimated that only 1.1 people will be in each
car arriving at its proposed Uptown site, as compared with 2.3 and 2.35
people at the other potential North Shore and Station Square casinos,
respectively. This could mean the majority of those who would access the
Uptown location would come via public transportation. Liuetant Lee Speer
with Duquesne Public Safety, said he believes a casino nearly would not
cause parking or traffic problems on or near campus. “We’re private property
and people know that,” he said. In addition to the congestion problems that
could arise, Duquesne officials and students have strong opinions about the
overall impact of the potential addition to the community. In a February
2006 press release, President Charles Dougherty said that, since a third of
Duquesne’s 10,000-student population live on the Bluff, the university is
concerned with the idea that easy access to a casino could lead to gambling
problems. “We don’t want them exposed to a slots parlor within a five-minute
walk of campus,” Dougherty said when he first expressed his disapproval for
the Isle of Capri plan to put a slots parlor close to Duquesne University.
“As we must locate a casino in Pittsburgh, let it be far away from large
concentrations of students.”
Although Dougherty’s concerns are reasonable, some have questioned his
motives.
Duquesne University President Charles Dougherty made waves in the city last
semester by being one of the first prominent figures in Pittsburgh to oppose
the Isle of Capri proposal on grounds that it would be detrimental to the
university.
However, Dougherty’s disapproval was met with claims from community members
who accused Duquesne University of a conflict of interest on grounds that
Duquesne board of directors member Glenn Mahone has a 25 percent stake in
the competing Forest City Enterprises proposal, which plans to build in
Station Square.
A Pennsylvania lawyer and Duquesne alumnus, speaking under condition of
anonymity, seems to think that there is another reason for Duquesne’s
outcry.
“It’s all about the property values,” he said about the area surrounding the
university. “If that casino gets put in, [Duquesne] won’t be able to buy up
all that land and keep it under non-profit status.”
The other two potential sights for the casino would be a 10-minute ride by
bus or the T.
“It’s not like students aren’t going to go gamble if the casino is somewhere
else,” he said.
During a visit to a Duquesne University political science class in Spring
2006, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato admitted he is not a huge fan
of gambling in Pittsburgh, but did not see the need for Dougherty’s
disapproval of the Isle of Capri proposal.
“Sure, there will be some adverse affects, but I’m a pragmatist. I’m sure [a
casino] could help the city in some ways,” Onorato said. “I have a hard time
believing students wouldn’t be able to find the Casino if it was in the
South Side.”
Others, like Tom Gerlach, trust that Dougherty’s remarks are genuine.
“From the standpoint of the University, [opposition to the casino] makes a
lot of sense,” said Gerlach, a senior Duquesne University supply chain
management major. “You can’t argue with facts.”
A resident of the Hill District, Gerlach already sees the crime and
prostitution that government officials fear would envelope the area if a
casino is built Uptown.
“I’m sure that’s the main concern of the University,” he said.
Audrey Guskey, a marketing professor at Duquesne, has mixed opinions on a
potential casino’s influence in the Hill District.
“It could improve Uptown,” she said. “But I don’t approve of gambling coming
to Pennsylvania.”
Speers agreed.
“In my professional opinion, I wouldn’t like to see it.”
Public affairs officials said no further comments have been made by the
university regarding the issue.
