Churchill Downs announced the signing of a deal to sell 115.7 acres of land near Florida’s Calder Casino for $291 million, or approximately $2.5 million per acre.

Churchill Downs sells lot near Calder Casino

This, according to the company, was done in collaboration with Link Logistics, a logistics real estate investment trust founded by Blackstone in 2019.

The property’s sale is contingent upon the satisfaction of various closing conditions, which the company anticipates occurring in the first half of 2022.

CDI states that it “plans to use a portion of the proceeds from the sale to acquire or invest in replacement property that qualifies as a 1031 exchange.” CDI will retain ownership of approximately 54 acres of the current 170-acre parcel of land on which the company’s wholly-owned Calder Casino is located following the completion of this transaction.

In the future, the company may sell 15-20 acres of land along NW 27th Avenue in Miami Gardens for retail development.

Churchill Downs announced last month that it had posted a series of increases through the third quarter of the year, aided by its gaming and live and historical racing segments, while TwinSpires reported declines.

Sustaining Momentum

Through the third quarter of the year, net gaming revenue increased 16.3 percent to $393 million (2020: £337.8 million), while net income increased 42.1 percent to $61.4 million (2020: $43.2 million), and adjusted EBITDA increased 28 percent from $121.9 million to $156.1 million.

When those headline figures are broken down further, the company’s gaming segment took the lion’s share with revenue of $185.6 million, up 27.9 percent from $133.7 million.

This was confirmed by the Indiana Gaming Commission last week, when it announced that the company’s application for a real-money casino owner’s license in Vigo County had been approved.

This agreement will see the group develop the Queen of Terre Haute Casino Resort after defeating three competing proposals from Hard Rock, Full House Resorts, Premier Gaming Group, and Terre Haute Entertainment.