New 'Gillies' complex in Park City presents itself as family‑focused regional destination

Tim Merrill, general manager of Gillies, told the Committee on Appropriations that the Park City historic horse‑racing facility opened Dec. 15, 2025, three months ahead of schedule and roughly 10% under budget.

Merrill said the operator received its historic horse‑racing (HHR) license in late 2023 for the site at the former Wichita Greyhound Park and that the project grew from an initial $54,000,000 development budget to "about $150,000,000 in development cost" before completion. "The initial budget was $54 million, and we expanded about $150 million in development cost before we finished up," Merrill said.

Why it matters: Gillies is positioned as a year‑round regional destination rather than a conventional gaming hall. Merrill said the facility is designed to draw visitors from a broad area, with an initial mix of non‑gaming attractions intended to appeal to families and regional tourists.

Details presented to the committee included an 88‑acre site with a 165,000‑square‑foot facility, roughly 3,000 parking spaces, about 300 staff and 1,000 HHR machines on the gaming floor. Merrill described multiple dining and entertainment venues, a 15,000‑square‑foot children’s area with arcade and simulators, several live‑music spaces and five bars.

Merrill told lawmakers the facility recorded heavy early traffic: "In our first 15 days, we welcomed over 65,000 visitors," and he later said January visits were about 31,000. He said roughly 10% of loyalty‑program signups to date were from out‑of‑state customers and anticipated larger out‑of‑state draws when summer concerts and festival programming begin.

On community giving, Merrill described a nonprofit arm, Gillies Cares, that will distribute funds required under the state’s pari‑mutuel law and additional donations such as player rounding. "One half of one percent of our net profit goes to our charitable arm," he said, adding the operator also donates rounding on ticket‑in/ticket‑out (TITO) receipts and estimated roughly $7,000 per month in such donations. He said the charitable board will accept applications and that no single organization can receive more than 20% of the facility’s annual contributions.

The committee asked about the timing of further development. Merrill said phase two, which includes a hotel and retail, is in design and the operator expects to break ground in 2026.

The committee thanked Merrill and had no further action on the presentation. The chair welcomed committee members to visit Gillies during an upcoming legislative event and accepted an invitation for a summer event at the site.

Ending: The presentation concluded with committee members expressing interest in the facility’s regional economic impact and charity plans; committee staff did not request additional oversight items at the time.