OTB to open next year in Hoffman Estates

The Hoffman Estates village board paved the way for an off-track betting parlor inside the Prairie Stone Business Park without any discussion.

The Saddle Room is a 10,960 square-foot restaurant and bar featuring an OTB, two dining rooms, lounge, wine bar and outdoor patio. It's set to open in February 2010, said Parker Grabowksi, one of the facility's owners.

The board unanimously approved a series of measures, including the project's site plan. The project is the same submitted to the board in December. Officials then said they were still waiting on purchasing the parcel from Cabela's. The restaurant would take up 2.25 acres.

Melrose Park-based Inter-Track Partners has three state gaming licenses available and will operate the OTB. They own various OTBs, including Ringside Sports Bar in Elk Grove Village. Police there said they haven't reported any crime from the bar, which opened in 2007.

Inter-Track President Bob Bilocerowycz approached the Hoffman Estates board last May and proposed an OTB at the Poplar Creek Bowl. Village board members said the bowling alley wasn't an appropriate spot, and the plan died.

"What I really like about this one is it's in the entertainment district, and there are no residences anywhere near it," Mayor William McLeod said.

Hoffman Estates officials are calling the Saddle Room a major part of its entertainment district which includes the Sears Centre arena and Cabela's, near I-90 and Higgins Road. McLeod added that the village would be getting a portion of the betting receipts. Inter-Track officials estimate the village and Cook County would receive $150,000 to $200,000 annually, based on $15 million to $20 million of yearly business.

Bilocerowycz is excited given the amount of resistance he's encountered in the past.

"We finally found a spot in the middle of nowhere, an entertainment product in an entertainment spot," he said.

The ownership group also owns the Turf Room in North Aurora as well as the News Room in Minneapolis.

Village officials point out the Saddle Room is more than an OTB, citing a need for more formal sit-down restaurants in the area.

The restaurant's ownership group said they'll spend more than the $4 million the spent on their North Aurora locale.