by KYW's Mike Dunn
It's being called a "huge step forward" in the battle over a slots parlor planned for South Philadelphia.
Governor Rendell says the Foxwoods casino has agreed to look at other locations -- and in fact has other sites in mind.
Rendell, along with Mayor Nutter and other elected officials, met for an hour on Thursday afternoon behind closed doors with Foxwoods officials.
Afterward, the governor told reporters that the casino, much to his surprise, has agreed to seriously consider relocating from its current controversial site at Delaware Avenue and Reed Street (top right):
"For the first time there's a recognition by Foxwoods that they will consider other sites. And these are sites that they have apparently found by themselves."
Neither Rendell nor Nutter know what other sites Foxwoods has in mind, and the governor stressed that everyone involved is weeks or months away from being able to announce anything more definitive:
"The good news is they are considering them. We all have pledged to work with them to try to make relocation to one of these sites a reality. But there are many things that have to be done before this is in any way ready to go."
Rendell plans a meeting in a couple of weeks with officials of Sugarhouse, the other Philadelphia casino now planned for North Delaware Avenue (see related story).
The attorney for the group Casino-Free Philadelphia, whose members were demonstrating outside Thursday's meeting (bottom right), says it's good to hear that Foxwoods is looking for other locations, but they are still insisting that the process be "fair, open, and transparent."
Paul Boni says they don't want to go from one backroom deal to another, with equally unpopular results.
Boni says the current sites are not just bad because they're on the waterfront, it's because they're too close to neighborhoods. He says if there are to be casinos in Philadelphia, officials must protect the neighborhoods.
Foxwoods, in a statement, said only that the casino is committed to pursuing discussions on other locations... while preserving its right to build at the original Delaware Avenue site.
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