Eight-year Prairie Meadows lease approved

Altoona, IA - June 16, 2011 - Polk County supervisors voted 5-0 Tuesday to approve a new, eight-year lease with Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino that will supply the county with millions of dollars in revenue each year.

The lease will pay the county $26 million from 2011 to 2013, with the potential for more in subsequent years.

Polk County taxpayers own the property and many of the fixtures at the racetrack-casino operated by a nonprofit board.

Highlights of the terms include:

• Polk County will receive $15.6 million in rent each year.

• The county will be paid $10.4 million in additional profits for the first three years of the lease. After that, it will receive 5 percent of Prairie Meadows' adjusted gross revenues up to $225 million and 6 percent of revenues above that. Prairie Meadows takes in about $200 million in casino revenue, but it expects that to rise once its hotel is completed next year.

• The county will pay property taxes up to the current rate of $4.5 million per year; Prairie Meadows will pay taxes above that.

• If legislation increases Prairie Meadows' gaming tax by 4 percentage points or more, the two sides will negotiate a new profit-sharing formula or go to mediation. Likewise, a new formula can be drafted if Prairie Meadows' revenues drop by 10 percent in two consecutive quarters.

• If legislation increases purses for horse racing by 20 percent or more, the county can negotiate for more money.

Read More: Des Moines Register