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A PR IL 2019 | 77 Century Mile Race Track and Casino RENDERINGS COURTESY BR2 ARCHITECTURE; PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY CENTURY CASINOS INC. Century Mile Race Track and Casino by ROBIN BRUNET T he new Century Mile Race Track and Casino located next to the Edmonton International Airport is proof that sometimes, bigger is indeed better. Owners Century Casinos Inc. devel- oped Century Mile to contain the only mile-long Class A horse racing track west of Ontario, with thoroughbred and standardbred racing year-round as well as all forms of pari-mutuel wagering. The owners retained BR2 Architecture and Chandos Construction Ltd., which had designed and built Century Casino's Century Downs track north of Calgary, to make Century Mile a facility that would revi- talize horse racing in Edmonton – as well as increase gaming revenues. Paul Ryneveld, general manager at both Century Mile and Century Downs, says, "This project was originally a big- ger version of Century Downs, but in 2017 I travelled to Ohio to look at new racing and gaming centres and was inspired to make Century Mile much more than initially intended." Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway was one of three facilities Ryneveld took numerous photos of and passed over to BR2 Architecture part- ner Derek Sampson. "Dayton was a big inspiration, from its gaming and rac- ing entrances being well defined, to its terraced dining on the second level, and even the placement of the buffet," he recalls. BR2 Architecture in turn created a racetrack and gaming facility whose rectangular form echoes the design of classic racetrack buildings, but informed by a modern esthetic – and with two distinct entrances for racing and the casino, the former consisting of a soaring red square canopy seemingly supported by long, thin, angled pilons, (the red canopy form was repeated for the roof of the upper level judge and announcer quarters). Sampson also created a modern itineration of the classic racetrack bleachers (grandstand), about 200 square metres in size with a glazing railing system to augment the glazing running the length of the main building. The architect divided the main building of 96,667 square feet into a 45,353-square-feet main floor capa- ble of accommodating over 800 slot machines; a 150-seat restaurant; lounge and feature bar, kitchen; and other elements. The 29,504-square-foot second floor was designed to accom- modate a 274 seat tiered restaurant; luxury suites with balconies; conces- sions; the 300 seat public grandstand, and public window viewing areas. Arguably, the most challenging aspect of construction, which com- menced in May of 2017, was levelling the site for the racetrack and main building. "It was 120 acres of hills and different elevations, and we spent the entire summer moving soil," says Hazem Abdelnaiem, project man- ager for Chandos Construction Ltd. "We then created a pond in the mid- dle of the site for rainwater collection in order to avoid disrupting racetrack conditions. We shut down for winter, then in March of 2018 we began work on the track, the parking lot surfaces, and the main building." For the record, building the track consisted of putting down a layer of fabric to prevent anything foreign from coming up from the flattened soil, then seven inches of drainage rock and another layer of fabric, on top of which was laid the racing surface. Abdelnaiem adds that lessons learned on Century Downs – a remark- ably efficient project in its own right – were applied with great success to Century Mile, "including dividing the work into phases and improving scheduling so we weren't waiting for materials at the last minute." Structural considerations included the creation of two basements to accommodate offices and jockey quarters. "This altered the piling scheduling, because we had to con- struct the foundation around the basements and ensure that the backfill didn't affect the main floor move- ment," says Ichiro Watanabe, principal, Protostatix Engineering Consultants. Protostatix used load bearing steel stud framing to support the bleachers, with the concrete decking poured on top. Another innovative solution con- cerned the interior gaming floor, which was required to be flexible for future re- arrangement of the gaming machines. "As with Century Downs, we poured the base slab first, laid out an electrical grid system on top, then poured a second slab on top," says Abdelnaiem. As of early March, construction of the new Century Mile Race Track and Casino was almost complete, and the facility was already open for training. Ryneveld says, "Century Mile is a great facility, and I believe people are going to make the trip to the airport to watch horse racing. I firmly believe it will revitalize the business." A LOCATION 4711 Airport Perimeter Road, Edmonton International Airport, Edmonton, Alberta OWNER/DEVELOPER Century Casinos Inc. ARCHITECT BR2 Architecture GENERAL CONTRACTOR Chandos Construction Ltd. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Protostatix Engineering Consultants MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Arrow Engineering Inc. ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT ECCOM Consulting Inc. TOTAL SIZE 96,667 square feet TOTAL COST $61.5 million 7:05 AM

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