PARIS — The Oxford Hills Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a public informational session Thursday night in support of a proposed $184 million casino and resort in Oxford.
The program will be presented by representatives of Black Bear Entertainment, the project developer, chamber Executive Director John Williams said Tuesday. Major investors and supporters will attend, he said.
The major investors, according to published reports, include: Steve Barber, former president and CEO of Barber Foods in Portland; Rupert and Suzanne Grover of Grover Gundrilling in Norway; Rob Lally, co-owner of Mt. Abram ski resort in Greenwood; Jim Boldebook, founder of Creative Broadcast Concepts, an auto ad firm in Biddeford; Bob Bahre of Alton, N.H., former owner of Oxford Plains Speedway and New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon; and his son and business partner, Gary Bahre, also of Alton, N.H.
The one-hour program will begin at 7 p.m. Sept. 30 at the Forum at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School on Route 26.
“This is an informational forum. This is not a debate,” he said.
The chamber’s board of directors voted to back the casino question on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot. For that reason, the chamber will not sponsor a forum for opponents of the measure, he said.
Opponent placards will not be allowed inside the high school. “There is nothing we can do about it outside,” Williams said of the possibility of an organized protest.
Williams said he hopes the event will be “civil.”
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