Miami Valley Gaming & Racing announced Friday evening that it had completed the purchase of harness racing licenses and other assets from the Lebanon Trotting Club Inc. and Miami Valley Trotting Inc., according to statement from the gaming company.

The purchase moves the company another step closer to beginning construction of a racing facility at Ohio 63 and Union Road off Interstate 75 in Warren County. The new facility is expected to open in the first quarter of 2014, according to the statement.

“We are pleased to be moving forward with this significant economic development project,” said William Bissett, president of Delaware North Companies Gaming & Entertainment.

Delaware North and Churchill Downs formed Miami Valley Gaming to purchase the racing business from the Lebanon Trotting Club Inc. and Miami Valley Trotting Inc.

The $175 million project calls for building a harness racetrack and a 186,000-square-foot building on 120 acres. The facility will open with 1,800 VLTs and live racing 75 days a year, said Shawn Bailey, senior vice president for business development for Churchill Downs. It is expected to create 1,000 construction jobs and about 700 permanent jobs, including 450 full-time posts, according to Miami Valley Gaming.

The facility is one of two racinos planned for the area.

Penn National Gaming is planning a to build a racino on 119 acres at the southwest corner of Needmore and Wagner Ford roads in Dayton. That project would feature a harness racetrack, a gaming building of up to 150,000 square feet with a simulcast theater for on- and off-track wagering, self-bet/full bet mutual service stations and theater and box seating.

C onstruction costs for the Penn National facility are estimated at $125 million.