Vancouver asked to let slot machines keep ringing at Hastings Park despite suspension of horse racing

Hastings Park Racecourse has relied on slot machines to subsidize horse racing and provide benefits to the City of Vancouver, but the rezoning that allowed them requires horse racing for them to continue. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

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Vancouver is mulling a plan to allow the suspended Hastings Park horse racing operation to continue bringing in revenue from slot machines while the city figures out what comes next.

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A motion going before a committee on strategic priorities Wednesday asks city council to direct staff not to enforce a 2004 rezoning condition that only allows the racecourse to operate a casino when the racetrack facility is also in use.

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The staff report “seeks council’s approval of a temporary non-enforcement resolution to permit the continued operation of slot machines in the existing grandstand building at Hastings Park without the continued operation of horse racing at the racetrack.”

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The province cancelled all horse racing subsidies to the Hastings Park operation last year, leading the operators to stop racing horses at the site.

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Hastings Park’s grandstand has been empty since late 2025 after the province ended subsidies and the company pulled the plug on horse racing. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

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“With the closure of the racetrack, the city (as landowner) is considering options for the long-term use of the site, which may require a rezoning. While these discussions are ongoing, the operator, or their successors, are proposing to continue the existing slot machine operations without the horse racing, which is not permitted under the current development approvals.”

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It would give operators of the facility at 2901 East Hastings — Hastings Entertainment Inc. and Great Canadian Entertainment are the current operators — up to three years of slots revenues “to support business continuity and protect existing jobs” during the planning phase.

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A 2004 rezoning allowed for up to 900 machines at the track. A development permit issued the following year put the number of slot machines under the grandstand at 600, with some of the income going to a public benefits package.

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The racetrack had been in operation since 1882 on the city-owned land before operations ceased in late 2025 for financial reasons, but slots have continued.

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Flanked by city councillors, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim and Vancouver Whitecaps CEO Axel Schuster (seated) sign a memorandum of understanding for the Whitecaps to have an “exclusive negotiation period” to pursue a new stadium and entertainment district on the site of Hastings Park racecourse last December.

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The staff report says it’s unclear what might happen next.

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“The future of the racecourse is uncertain. Proposals for alternative uses that do not include horse racing … may require site rezoning and other development approvals,” it says.

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The continuing revenue and a council resolution not to crack down on the slots “would support existing employment and business continuity at the site during a challenging economic environment with significant pressures on the entertainment sector.”

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One of the possibilities would be the Vancouver Whitecaps using Hastings Park as its new home, along with an entertainment district. The soccer team’s owners and city signed a memorandum of understanding to that effect at the end of 2025 but there has been little movement since.

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Under the current system, the city collects the gaming money from Hastings under the Gaming Control Act of B.C., and keeps 10 per cent of net revenues from slot machines for a boost to the city budget that averages to about $1.1 million a year.