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CITYSCOPE

By KIT BAUMAN |

It’s really a bit early to be speculating on the possibility of parimutuel wagering in Texas, but if the issue should gain acceptance by voters, Dallas stands to profit. The city’s interest is no different than the state’s: they’d like to have a piece of the economic action. Yes, virtually all of the Dallas reps in the House voted against the parimutuel proposal in the August special session, as did all but a couple of the area’s suburban representatives. And yes, we still don’t know whether the issue will be put to a vote in a referendum next year. But city officials, both elected and appointed, and some private sector leaders are already salivating over the opportunities-and the object of their desire is Fair Park. It’s not the first time; parimutuel wagering has surfaced as a possible revenue source for the State of Texas before, with Fair Park bandied about as a promising locale for a variety of reasons; it’s centrally located, has plenty of room for a track, and there are already adequate support facilities, like stables, which could easily be expanded. Best of all, from the perspective of the racing boosters, the fair is inside the city limits, not in the suburbs. In other words, the tax revenue and other direct income would stay home. Horse racing (and wagering, during two brief periods when it was legalized, 1905-1909 and 1933-1937) was a staple of the annual State Fair from the outset of its affiliation with Fair Park in 1887 through the Thirties, and was always the fair’s most popular and most lucrative entertainment. In fact, the fair dropped racing for a while, but reinstated it in 1934 for reasons that sound familiar today: they needed the money. . ..



Remember the item here a couple of months ago about the looming professional wrestling promotion war? Well, it’s begun with an interesting Eighties-like twist: lawsuits. Hometown hero Fritz Von Erich had the law waiting with papers in late July when two out-of-state promoters put on a show at Reunion Arena. Von Erich is suing seven of the wrestlers who appeared on that show, claiming that they violated the contracts they had signed earlier when they worked for him. He wants a share of whatever money they’ve earned since leaving his promotion, and he’s also suing one of the two “foreign” promoters. Bill Watts, who’s based in Tulsa. It seems that Fritz is (or was-that’s in dispute) a part owner of Watts’s promotion in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, and he wants money that he claims he’s owed. No court date has been set in either action. Meanwhile, Fritz countered the outsiders’ Reunion Arena show, which went on as scheduled, with one of his own, at the Mes-quite Rodeo Arena. The results? Pretty much of a standoff; each show drew between 6,000 and 7,000 paying spectators….



Updating a couple of other items from recent columns: The Museum of African-American Life and Culture has managed to win the approval of the park board for its relocation to Fair Park-and to the site that it wanted, too. It looks as though the museum will get its construction funds next year as well. Actually, it wasn’t as close a call for the museum as its supporters had originally thought. If you’ll recall, there was some unofficial opposition from a couple of members of the State Fair of Texas board to the relocation of the museum within Fair Park, and some of the outside funding that the museum was counting on for construction and operations seemed about to dry up. But the park board’s action was decisive and unanimous, and that seems to have reassured a lot of people. Dr. Harry Robinson Jr., director of the museum, says that the end of the uncertainty should free up those promised donations and perhaps bring some new ones. If anyone’s unhappy about the decision, it has to be the supporters of the State Fair Music Hall. The new museum will be located on a portion of the Music Hall’s parking lot, and its director, Tom Hughes, says the loss of approximately 500 parking spaces could significantly affect support for his programs. “If you can’t park ’em, you can’t play ’em,” Hughes says.. ..



Forget what we told you about Mayor Starke Taylor’s staying mum about his political plans until early in the fall. Hizzoner was still saying “maybe yes, maybe no” about running for another term, but at least two rumored candidates who were waiting for some sign from the mayor-Dallas County Republican Party Chairman Fred Meyer and Mayor Pro Tern Annette Strauss-were saying flatly at mid-month that they “know” he’s not going to run. Strauss may have already announced by the time you read this, and you can expect Meyer to come out shortly after the November general election. Others expected to join the fray: former city councilman and DART board representative Lee Simpson, former Congressman Jim Collins, and perhaps even former councilman Max Gold-blatt (depending upon how his campaign as an independent candidate for Dallas County Judge goes). You can also expect to start hearing about the plans of councilmembers Dean Van-derbilt, Jim Richards, Jerry Rucker, and others. It’s a safe bet that some council members won’t run next year….

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