A new multi-million dollar greyhound track in Orange is greenlit to go ahead.
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The contract to buy the old Highlands Paceway has been signed, it emerged on Tuesday,
Greyhound, Breeders 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."
The development 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, onsite 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.
The abandoned old trotters 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 ethics of dog racing, fairness of taking the track from Bathurst, and 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 told the CWD prior to the vote.
"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."