The question of what to do with the former Dresden Slots building may soon be answered.
Built in 2001, the Dresden Slots was home to over 140 slot machines. At the time of their closing, the slots were operated by Gateway Casino, which closed the facility in July 2019 after opening the new Cascades Casino in Chatham. The building that used to host the slots sits on land owned by the Dresden Agricultural Society, which rented it to Gateway Casinos.
Now, that space sits empty and it will soon be returned back to the agricultural society, which will hold a meeting for its members on Thursday this week to discuss what to do with the building.
"The meeting is just going to be an informal meeting," explained Dresden Agricultural Society President Alicia VanEsse. "We just want to let the members be aware of how the building is looking and hopefully when it will be returned to us. [Gateway] gave us a tentative date, not a formal date. Then, we're looking for ideas of what the membership wants [to do] with the building."
Gateway is still working on cleaning out the facility before they return the keys to the society. VanEsse said once the slots were taken out, it was like a completely different building. She said going through the facility once it closed its doors, she was shocked by just how large it actually is, saying there are "endless opportunities" of what can be done with it.
"It's all just rumours that I've heard. People have heard a bingo hall, people have heard a community center," she said. "But again, I want to hear it from the membership themselves."
Secretary and Treasurer of the Dresden Agricultural Society and the Dresden Raceway, Becky Ramsay, has toured the vacant building twice since it closed. She said it seemed to be in good condition and appeared to be well taken care of over the years.
The one-floor structure is currently made up of different sections including multiple office buildings, a money room, the area the was once the gaming floor, and a large space that was used for staff breaks.
"It wouldn't matter what we decide we're going to do," said Ramsay. "It's going to take some further construction."
Just like VanEsse, Ramsay agreed that there's a lot of different options for the future of the building.
"I really have no idea what to expect from the membership. It's hard to say, maybe they'll have some ideas. It would be great to get ideas from the general public, what they feel is needed in Dresden," said Ramsay. "I'm sure the building is big enough to accommodate a few different options."
The Dresden Agricultural Society membership meeting will take place on September 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Raceway grandstand.