Stop the fight: Contract signed for new greyhound development ... and it's not here

The contract to buy Orange's old Highlands Paceway has been signed, the Central Western Daily reported on Tuesday.

Greyhound Breeders, Owners and Trainers Association (GBOTA) CEO Daniel Weizman met Orange City Council staff this week to finalise the deal.

"We are now a step closer to re-introducing world class greyhound racing and creating a world class greyhound centre of excellence in Orange," Mr Weizman said in a prepared statement.

"The site is fantastic. It has been a lot of work, but it is now coming together ... It will be a boost to breeders, owners, trainers and race fans in the Central West as well as creating local amenities for the whole community."

Orange and Bathurst have been fighting for the new facility ever since Kennerson Park was destroyed by Macquarie River flooding in November 2022.

As recently as last month, Bathurst Regional Council assured that it was continuing "to hold discussions with GRNSW [Greyhound Racing NSW], and lobby for Bathurst as the home of the proposed greyhound racing centre of excellence".

The development at Orange was agreed to "in principle" last year but faced multiple legal and technical hurdles.

A development application is expected to be lodged for the construction "soon".

Preliminary design plans for the "centre of excellence" included a restaurant, public all-weather sports fields, on-site function centre, mini golf, vet clinic, rehoming facilities, pet shop, and offices.

Estimated costs are about $15 million. The earliest timeline for completion is 2025.

Orange's abandoned old trotting track off Bathurst Road was revealed as the preferred location in February last year.

A block adjacent to Orange Airport, the former sports precinct on the Northern Distributor and Towac Park were also explored.

"The priority will be the track itself and being the safest and best designed in the world. It will be built with the latest technology in regards to safety and welfare," then-CEO of GBOTA Allan Hilzinger told the CWD in March.

Concerns over the ethics of dog racing, the fairness of taking the track from Bathurst and the suitability of the trotting track - which has been previously earmarked for dirt bike riding - have been flagged.

"It's a dying industry, literally," former councillor Neil Jones has previously told the CWD.

"This talk of a 'centre of excellence' is nonsense. It'll be a 'centre of excellence' for gambling and animal suffering .... That's the reality of the industry. It's awful, and we shouldn't be part of it."

Member for Bathurst Paul Toole has expressed frustration a number of times with Bathurst Regional Council's lobbying efforts over the greyhounds facility.