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Off-Track Betting Site Wants To Move

Well-Known New Haven Spot Prime Property

POSTED: 6:55 pm EST January 21, 2008

A well-known off-track betting site in New Haven is on the selling block.

Channel 3 Eyewitness News reporter Len Besthoff reported the owner of Sports Haven has decided to put its 10-acre site up for sale -- but the company said it's not cashing in its chips in New Haven.

Since 1979, bettors in the New Haven area have called Sports Haven their home away from the track.

"It's a good place to come, and I'm retired and I've been playing horses for 20 to 25 years, and it has a very nice place," said Nick Scasino, of North Haven.

Autotote Enterprises, the business that occupies the signature four-story structure with its widescreen TVs, said the building has outlived its usefulness and the company needs to move somewhere with less space and a lower heat and light bill.

"We'll still have the big screens, we'll still have the televisions, a restaurant and a sports bar. So, people won't miss anything," said Don Barberino, marketing director for Autotote Enterprises.

The owners would love to have their business integrated into whatever gets built on the site, saying a number of potential bidders have already shown an interest, despite the slowing economy.

"The city of New Haven has been talking about redeveloping this area for years, and this is a very prime piece of property. So, I don't think there will be a difficulty in marketing it," Barberino said.

Sports Haven's plan is to stay in New Haven's Long Wharf area, something the city appreciates because Sports Haven contributes more than $1 million a year to city coffers.

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