• The NJ sportsbook would be located at Market Place and Towne Place at Garden State Park in Cherry Hill.
  • Construction of a “sports bar” has been in the works since May of 2018.
  • Garden State Park horse racing course closed in 2001, well before legal sports betting in N.J. came to fruition.

CHERRY HILL, N.J. – While most retail sportsbooks in NJ are in the heart of Atlantic City, one sports betting parlor has been in the works for almost a year.

Cherry Hill Towne Center Partners (M&M Partners), owners of Market Place and Towne Place at Garden State Park, originally began construction for a “sports bar” in August of 2018 where the former Garden State Park horse-racing course stands.

However, G.S. Park Racing, former owners of the track, sued Cherry Hill Towne Center Partners in order to stop construction. The group claims to have a deed covenant that gives them the exclusive right to own and operate an off-track betting facility as well as all gaming activity on the property.

Judge Renee Bumb demanded more briefs this week in order to get a clearer picture of each party’s intent. Her concern was whether or not G.S. Racing Park would have the option to oppose a sports betting license if Cherry Hill Towne Center Partners applied for one.

According to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, no sports betting applications have come in from Cherry Hill at this time.

M&M Partners, have argued that the deed covenant did not address the topic of NJ sports betting when it was signed at the time the race track closed in 2001.

They have also argued that G.S. Park Racing has ties to groups that control Freehold Raceway and Parx Casino which is located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA. They claim that G.S. Park Racing is intentionally stopping the construction of this particular NJ sportsbook so that sports bettors have to go out of state.

This means that tax revenue for the state of New Jersey would be lost because of this lawsuit. The open-air mall is located on Route 70, near the intersection of Interstate 295 which leads to Philadelphia.

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