The impending arrival of a slots casino bringing millions of additional annual North Side visitors drew fury from sports teams, optimism from community groups and anticipation from the people eager to begin gambling.

Tracy Campo of Avon, Ohio, arriving at the Carnegie Science Center yesterday with her mother and two children, laughed at the prospect of combining the science museum and future Pittsburgh Majestic Star next door on a family visit. But she'd also be willing to make a three-hour trip to do so.

"I can drop them off here and head on over to play," she said with the giggling agreement of her mother, Dian Brown of Scottdale, also a slots player.

The winning bid by Don Barden's PITG Gaming for Pittsburgh's slots license was no laughing matter to some big-time players on the North Shore. The Steelers and Pirates expressed disappointment and even stronger reactions to the decision. They maintain the riverfront that now includes their two stadiums and headquarters for Del Monte Foods and Equitable Gas, along with the science center, is no place for legalized gambling.

"We're a pretty family-oriented business, and I don't think mom and dad are going to bring Boy Scouts down to swing by the casino and then go to a game," said Kevin McClatchy, the Pirates' managing general partner. "It's not what I would put over here by the sporting facilities and this entertainment area we're developing right now."

The Steelers, who have discussed plans to break ground in 2007 on an entertainment district adjacent to Heinz Field, including an outdoor concert venue, were even more critical.

Club President Art Rooney II said the Steelers are reviewing options, "both legally and otherwise," that could either block the casino project or apply controls to how it is developed.

"As a land owner, a land user in the neighborhood, hopefully we would have access to the same kind of protection land owners and land users would have in any kind of development," said Mr. Rooney, whose organization opposed PITG Gaming in writing to the state Gaming Control Board. "My big concern is that the access and parking situation over on the North Shore is already difficult at this time, and we have always been concerned ... whether there's going to be anything done in terms of improving infrastructure to allow a structure of this magnitude and density, in terms of users."

Elected officials and neighborhood representatives who have met with Mr. Barden, however, are more optimistic about his Majestic Star fitting into the North Shore mix with his $450 million development.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said a new task force would be created, replacing one appointed by former Mayor Tom Murphy that evaluated the gaming applicants, to work with PITG and interested North Side organizations on traffic, design and related issues.

"The North Side community has been supportive of this plan," said Mr. Ravenstahl, a North Side councilman before becoming mayor.

The Northside Leadership Conference, a collaborative of 14 neighborhood groups, did not endorse PITG or any casino plan, but it did sign an agreement with Mr. Barden for him to provide community funding if he won the license, said Mark Fatla, the conference's executive director.

Ten months after the casino opens, it will provide the group with $500,000 annually for three years for residential development project, and the same for commercial district efforts on the North Side.

The surrounding neighborhoods of Allegheny West, Central North Side, East Allegheny and Manchester could all be affected by the casino, and the funding could help offset any negative impact, said Mr. Fatla, who praised Mr. Barden's commitments. He said the conference was also guaranteed a role in the casino's employment program, and Mr. Barden demanded no endorsement by the group in return.

"There's no celebrating here," Mr. Fatla said. "There's recognition that a casino in a North Side location means neighbors are going to have to work harder to minimize negative impacts, and work harder to take advantage of potential positives."

The North Side/North Shore Chamber of Commerce sees the potential for casino employees to become stable residents of nearby neighborhoods, said Executive Director Robin Rosemary Miller.

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato, who also is a North Sider, said the casino decision makes the Port Authority's extension of light rail transit to the North Side all the more important.

The science center is among the other beneficiaries of the LRT extension, and museum Director Joanna Haas said she's hopeful of collaboration and co-existence with the casino, instead of opposing it.

The bulk of the land is presently taken up by a 1,200-space parking lot leased by Allegheny General Hospital for its employees' use. Area highways separate the site from residential areas. The only businesses to be uprooted, and it's not certain how soon, are two wholesale distributors, Pennstan Supply and Mosebach Electric Supply, which share a building close to West End Bridge.

Zane Gearhart, branch manager for Penstan, said it has a lease through 2009, and would relocate rather than close.