Dairyland Greyhound Park is deciding whether it will remain open in 2010.

The struggling park, long running in the red, may no longer be able to weather the pressures of casino gambling and race simulcasting competition, a track official said Friday.

In a letter sent to employees Thursday, Executive Vice President Roy Berger said a decision will be made no later than Nov. 16.

Berger said the facility has experienced a 19 percent decline in attendance and a 29 percent loss in handling this year, compared with 2008. Last year, he noted, was the worst performing year since the park opened in 1990.

Dairyland lost $3.4 million in 2008 and $2.8 million in 2007, according to past filings with the state.

The park has remained open in spite of these losses, with the hope that the Menominee Nation would gain federal and state approval to develop a $1 billion casino on the site. The Menominee continue to hold a $40.5 million option to purchase the park.

Berger said that option would remain valid, whether or not Dairyland continues to operate.

“We will not do anything to negatively impact that option and that proposal,” Berger said in a Friday telephone interview.

Berger said the proliferation of casino-style gambling in the region, as well as the recent addition of race simulcasting at the Potawatomi casino in Milwaukee, have contributed heavily to Dairyland’s woes. The track has tried unsuccessfully to obtain state licensing for additional gambling offerings.

“The losses on an annual basis are starting to become unmanageable,” Berger wrote in his letter. “As a stand-alone racetrack operating per Wisconsin regulations and statutes, there is no anticipated upside as we cannot add additional gaming product.”

Dairyland faces an Oct. 21 deadline to apply for 2010 racing dates through the state Division of Gaming. Berger said the track will not make that deadline and has applied for a extension to Nov. 16.

State Department of Administration spokeswoman Emily Winecke confirmed that the division received the letter Friday and is considering the request.

Berger said Dairyland management will take every factor into consideration before making a recommendation to the board of directors, as to whether greyhound racing should continue.

“We don’t expect the process to be easy and understand what is at risk for our employees, affiliates and our investors,” Berger’s letter stated.

Evan Zeppos, a spokesman for the Menominee project, said he believes a possible Dairyland closure would create more of a sense of urgency for the federal agencies responsible for reviewing the project. Zeppos said it could underscore the economic need for the casino, which proponents say would create hundreds of jobs.

“We provide what I might call the best and most current non-government stimulus project that would create quite a positive economic punch in the community,” Zeppos said.

The casino received a denial from the Department of the Interior in the waning days of the Bush administration, but backers have expressed optimism that President Barack Obama’s team may view it differently. Meanwhile, a Menominee lawsuit challenging off-reservation review guidelines remains pending in federal court.