Casino No Economic Jackpot For Atmore So Far; Another Town Plans Big I-65 Development

March 16, 2009

With the Wind Creek Casino opening earlier this year and businesses beginning to grow in the city’s Rivercane business development, Atmore has hedged a big bet for economic growth on Highway 21 and I-65, an area annexed into the city just a few years ago.

But so far, Atmore has not hit the jackpot. And recent announcements indicate that Atmore’s two aces in the hole may not be the only ones in the game. Another major casino could open an hour away, and another major I-65 development is in the works about half an hour away.

Atmore has not been immune to the economic downturn that has hit the nation, joining the ranks of cities that have been forced to cut back and layoff employees.

Atmore recently announced the layoff of six employees with the parks department and beautification department. The winter workload for the positions was minimal, and cutting the jobs had no great immediate impact on the city, Atmore Mayor Howard Shell said recently.

For anyone that is accustomed to traveling through Atmore, or even Highway 97 in North Escambia for that matter, it is obvious that the opening of the Wind Creek Casino & Hotel at Highway 21 and I-65 has increased traffic. While a few business people we spoke to along Atmore’s Main Street report an increase in foot traffic and sales, overall sales tax collections in the city are down slightly.

“There has not been an large upward trend in sales tax collections,” Mayor Shell told NorthEscambia.com. “They are almost at a level position and holding, but they are down a little bit from this time last year.”

Between Montgomery and Mobile, Greenville has the only exit with  major retail development — a Wal-mart, numerous hotels, a host of restaurants and an eight-screen movie theater all within sight of I-65.

Atmore’s Rivercane 643-acre development at Highway 21 and I-65 is the announced home for a Hardee’s restaurant and a few hotels. The city hopes to lure more business to the development to drive sales tax revenue. The Poarch Creek Indians pay no taxes to Atmore on their casino and hotel operations, so the casino has not directly increased the city’s sales tax.

And now another nearby town has announced they are working on developing both of their I-65 exits. Evergreen, Ala., has announced that several new businesses are on the way to their exit developments — a Love’s Travel Stop and Country Store, a Vista Inn, a Sleep Inn and a Huddle House restaurant.

Also, a developer has announced he is working to build a casino and resort on the beach at Perdido Key in Escambia County, Florida, in conjunction with an Indian tribe. He has told Escambia leaders that it will be larger than the Atmore casino.

It’s the worst national economic climate Shell said he has seen during his 22 years as Atmore’s Mayor. It has caused concern in the city, he said, but for now it is business as usual in their push for economic development.

“We are working to be good stewards of the city’s finances. We are taking all the measures we can to be economically minded about how we spend money,” the mayor said. “Each time we have to be mindful about how we spend our dollars.”

“We are holding our own, and we are working everyday on ways to increase revenue,” he said. “I just hope it doesn’t get any worse.”

Comments

18 Responses to “Casino No Economic Jackpot For Atmore So Far; Another Town Plans Big I-65 Development”

  1. Mobile, AL Domicile on May 5th, 2009 11:39 am

    Forget Wal-Mart and Target, try Publix, or Whole Foods and a small department store. Try to think of something more urban that will draw people, like that of Eastern Shore Centre. That will be the only thing to boost Atmore economy. The people need to petition a new idea for the development. Trust me, you do not want a bunch of Wal-Mart’s and Targets, that is the problem in Mobile. You want to draw a nice crowd that will want to move to a nice manicured town that has a little bit of money that contribute to the success thereof.

  2. tired of the talk on March 30th, 2009 11:44 am

    None of this article is about wall mart.. Please people, dont get on here, and be idiots! Its about the casino.. NOT A WALMART OR TARGET

  3. N.I.M.B.Y on March 18th, 2009 8:40 pm

    Target does not celebrate christmas, all you get from them is xmas and happy holidays. They will gladly accept your holiday money tho. I wont shop there for that reason.

  4. Megan on March 18th, 2009 2:39 pm

    I think we need a Target, why WalMart when we have one 30 minutes away the neartest Target is more than a hour and a half away. Forget WalMart I voted Target.

  5. BGA on March 17th, 2009 9:33 pm

    OH MY BAD IAM TALKING ABOUT THE NEW WAL-MART IN BREWTON AL lol

  6. BGA on March 17th, 2009 9:32 pm

    Yes we need a good wal-mart)))))))))))))))))))))))))))) the new one does not have anymore than the old one had EXCEPT SPACE thats all……. they even made the shoe department smaller you can’t hardley buy shoes their for a child thats a shame…..

  7. MARGARET P..MCCULLOUGH on March 17th, 2009 8:06 pm

    MOM
    I DON’T THINK ANY ‘WHITE’ PEOPLE SHOULD EVEN THINK ABOUT THROWING THEIR MONEY AWAY AT ANY ‘CANINO’ .EVERYBODY KNOWS THEY ARE ALL FIXED FOR YOU TO LOSE. .WHO CAN AFORD TO SEE THEIR MONEY GO DOWN A SLOT MACHINE WHEN THEY NEED FOOD AND CLOTHING,THROUGH THIS HARD TIME WE ARE GOING THROUGH. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING .WAIT UNTILL OBAMA GETS THROUGH WITH ALL OUR MONEY’

  8. James on March 17th, 2009 6:55 pm

    I agree with everyone where, you won’t find this sort of “truth” in any of the Atmore newspapers. I doubt there’s going to be a casino opening in Perido Key because that tribe isn’t federally recognized. My parents told me of the “good ole boy” system that has kept Atmore back for decades, but now I’m seeing it now as a concern citizen. Those “elite” business leaders kept business out of Atmore, but now they’re seeing the result of their mindset.

  9. tax payer on March 17th, 2009 11:13 am

    To small business owner: I understand your side of the Walmart issue, but shopping in Atmore is not an option unless you have money to waste. The grocery stores are 3 times higher than the Grocery Advantage. You can save a lot of money by driving to Cantonment, Bay Minette or Pensacola. I know a Walmart will NEVER come close to Atmore due to the “good ole buddy” system. Atmore has priced its self out of most shoppers wallets. I used to feel guilty about not spending my money in Atmore, but I can not afford to spend 3 times more when I can drive 20 minutes and save half or more. Seems like if other stores are reasonable that the grocery stores in Atmore could be more competitive. I would love to shop Atmore if I could get comparative prices to other grocery store prices.

  10. Small Business Owner on March 16th, 2009 5:20 pm

    Walmart puts too many small businesses out of business with no regard. The last thing Atmore or the surrounding area needs is a Walmart that will only destroy the remaining small businesses in the area. As a small business owner, I encourage everyone to support your local small businesses and help them survive this economic crisis.

  11. me on March 16th, 2009 3:05 pm

    We need a Walmart.

  12. Willard on March 16th, 2009 11:59 am

    To “B”: Looks to me like it is more of a story about Atmore not just the casino. If you want bias, read the two Atmore papers. All you find is glowing greatness about the casino and Atmore because the casino spends so much buying ads. The atmore news would be out of business if it were not for the casino ads. You wont find real information like this in the atmore news or advance.

  13. tired of the talk on March 16th, 2009 11:30 am

    We must all be positive. The casino has not been open long enough to tell if it is going to help the city of Atmore or not. If you go on the internet site, just notice how many AVAILABLE rooms there are. Theres NONE. The PCI have reserved the first month or two for all the indians to stay there.. Let them have their free nights at the hotel, and then once they allow other WHITE people to make reservations THEN we can start looking at the facts. Its just too soon to be putting the casino down. Even though I do agree that they spent too much on it.

  14. B on March 16th, 2009 11:23 am

    I find it interesting that this site did not publish any stories about the Grand Opening of the casino yet here is a negative piece. I really do enjoy checking this site daily for local news and think that for the most part it is a great tool for the community. I hope that the bias that I have detected periodically is just in my interpretation and not actual.

    I have not been to Wind Creek but I do support anything new in this community that can provide more jobs. I think that it is hardly fair to judge the success of the casino on the economy until the new properties that are adjacent to it actually open and start generating some taxes.

    I am sure that the tribe has plans to advertise just north of the Evergreen exit if in fact some development takes place there. I think that it is a little early to start yelling that the sky is falling and that God is frowning on Atmore because some folks enjoy a little video gaming.

  15. E.M.D. on March 16th, 2009 10:52 am

    Economic down turn is caused by not putting God first, and by trying to sustain a livestyle above our means, putting wants on or above the level of our needs. That is true no matter if we are upper, middle, or lower class. I have seen all three, including my own.

  16. Tax Payer on March 16th, 2009 9:30 am

    Amen Darryl….. Atmore leadership has set the town up for failure by hand picking the businesses they would allow to come in. Any business that will hurt their “good ole boy” friends business has not been allowed in. Look at Brewton and Bay Minnette, Atmore could have had it all….

  17. Good Job! on March 16th, 2009 8:24 am

    Great Article!!

    You won’t find this type of realistic article in the Atmore papers.

    If another casino is opened that will kill Atmore. What a great loss that will be for the tribe in Atmore.

  18. Darryl on March 16th, 2009 8:22 am

    Atmore’s problems are more involved than just the economic downturn. Years ago the town, during its good times had opportunities to bring in businesses to the downtown area and the “leaders” of Atmore did not want anyone messing up their little town (or the competition), so they tried to stay as they were. They bet the farm on the agri-businesses to maintain their revenue stream. With farming going through its changes that revenue stream nearly dried up. Not allowing other businesses when the city had the strength to attract them was a mistake. A town either grows and develops (it is the pace of growth that can be the problem) or it dies.

    The casino and related development may be good for the region in creating jobs, but it’ll do very little for the downtown area unless the city leaders take some serious action to make downtown viable for businesses.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News