This article has been updated since it originally appeared in print.
Colonial Downs Group, which owns Rosie’s gaming parlor at Colonial Downs (pictured above) says it is “monitoring developments and exploring options” for developing a casino in Richmond. (Photo courtesy Colonial Downs)
Plans for a state-approved casino and resort in Richmond are set to take shape this year as city leaders prepare their pitch to voters for a fall referendum.
After state lawmakers approved a commercial gaming bill in 2020 that opened the door to online sports betting and casino gambling in five Virginia cities, an internal panel of city officials and employees is now evaluating six bids submitted in response to a request for proposals (RFP) aimed at potential casino operators. They expect to announce their preferred operator and casino site by June, though Richmond voters will have the final say through a ballot referendum in November.
The six developers are:
- The Pamunkey Indian Tribe: The tribe first announced its plans to build a casino resort in Richmond's Manchester neighborhood in early 2020, though it has backed away from that site after receiving pushback from nearby civic association members at a community meeting held shortly after the announcement. The tribe's new proposal would place a $350 million casino about 4 miles away on 24.5 acres on Commerce Road.
- Wind Creek Hospitality: Also located in Manchester, this $541 million development proposal comes from the the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
- ONE Resort & Casino: Through a partnership between Maryland-based media company Urban One, Colonial Downs owner Peninsula Pacific Entertainment and Live Nation, this $517 million casino project would be located at Commerce Road and Walmsley Boulevard on property currently owned by Philip Morris USA.
- The Cordish Companies: The Baltimore-based developer is proposing a $600 million project on the Movieland site in Richmond's Scott's Addition neighborhood.
- Golden Nugget: The Houston-based casino developer would open its proposed $400 million facility close to the city’s western border at Chippenham Parkway and Powhite Parkway, according to a city news release.
- Bally's Corporation: This casino developer also has selected the same plot at Powhite Parkway and Chippenham Parkway as its preferred casino site, though a Bally's Corporation spokesman says the company has exclusive rights to purchase a second unnamed site in the city if the Powhite proposal is rejected.
The RFP was open from late December 2020 through Feb. 22 and was informed by a survey that received more than 2,000 responses from city residents. Those who responded identified sustainable design, housing investment in communities adjacent to the resort, jobs that pay a living wage and funding for public education among their priorities for the project.
“Receiving six proposals demonstrates that the city remains an attractive place for investment,” Mayor Levar Stoney said in a statement. “We are committed to a complete and competitive evaluation and selection process, so that Richmonders will have the best project possible to consider when voting on November 2nd.”
According to parameters set in the bill allowing casino gambling in the five cities — Richmond, Bristol, Danville, Portsmouth and Norfolk — the facilities will cost their operators at least $300 million to design and build. During a media briefing in early February, Stoney said the internal review group will consider factors such as the resort’s location and potential new city revenues as it weighs licensing proposals from casino interests.
“Richmond continues its work to reduce poverty, increase the availability of affordable housing and increase funding for our public school system,” Richmond Director of Economic Development Leonard Sledge wrote in an email. “A resort casino opening in the city presents an opportunity to generate new tax revenues to address these challenges and others, as well as create new jobs for Richmonders that pay a living wage.”
If approved by voters, construction on the Richmond facility wouldn’t begin before 2022, Sledge said.
Casino Bill Overview
According to the results of a 2019 study conducted by Virginia’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission prior to the casino legislation’s passage, these facilities could generate approximately $970 million in net gaming revenue annually, resulting in about $260 million in state gaming tax revenue each year. The state would allocate a portion of this money back to the localities, which would also benefit from local real estate, meals, sales and lodging taxes collected from the facilities.
In Bristol, where voters recently approved plans for a Hard Rock casino that’s anticipated to open in 2022, City Manager Randall Eads explains that an economic downturn spurred in part by a struggling local coal industry led his city to be ranked among the state’s most financially distressed localities by the Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts in 2017. As Bristol begins its recovery, he hopes the casino project will attract further investment in the small Southwest Virginia community.
“We can use this as a catalyst for other economic development projects here in the city because when we go talk to folks, we can say, ‘Hard Rock is here in Bristol,’ ” he says. “ ‘If we’re good enough for Hard Rock, why are we not good enough for you?’ ”
A coalition of Bristol churches banded together last year to oppose the project, holding rallies and purchasing billboards ahead of the November vote, urging residents to reject the resort casino in favor of local businesses.
Along with Richmond, Bristol is one of five Virginia cities where legislation has cleared a path for casino gambling. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol is expected to open in 2022. (Image courtesy Friedmutter Group)
“I predict the local economy will take a downturn, and it’ll hurt the small businesses in Bristol,” says Dewey Williams, pastor of Belle Meadows Baptist Church. “If it doesn’t work and it is bad, there’s no getting rid of it. It’s a one-way street.”
Eads says the casino would serve as a partner for local businesses in addition to creating much-needed jobs. In Richmond, Sledge echoes that sentiment.
“We encourage the growth of local restaurants and hotels throughout the city even without a resort casino,” Sledge says. “Our goal and expectation is that a resort casino will help increase total visitation to the city and benefit all local restaurants, hotels and tourism assets.”
Local Casino Interests
Though the multimillion-dollar project could tap into a new well of tourism-driven tax revenues, casino skeptics in Richmond also have voiced concerns regarding a possible uptick in crime, traffic and losses for existing local restaurants and hotels. After the Pamunkey tribe announced plans to build a resort casino in Manchester last year, South Side civic associations warned of a potential rise in unwanted traffic and increased crime. The tribe has since abandoned plans to purchase the Manchester site, spokesman Jay Smith says.
“We realized that we could probably find a different location that would still be a great location and ... be welcomed by the community more than the one that was in Manchester,” he says.
The tribe, which is already contracted to build and operate a $500 million casino resort in Norfolk, is now proposing a $350 million facility on on approximately 24.5 acres on Commerce Road along I-95. The proposed resort and casino would feature a 300-room four-diamond hotel; restaurants; entertainment areas for shows and concerts; and a casino with 75 table games, 2,000 slot machines and a sports book. The tribe projects that the facility would accommodate an estimated 5.3 million visits annually, with 67% of visitors coming from outside the city.
Maryland-based media company Urban One, which has partial ownership of the MGM National Harbor resort and casino and operates a network of radio stations across the country, has partnered with Colonial Downs owner Peninsula Pacific Entertainment to propose a a $517 million casino project in the city, according to a Richmond Times-Dispatch report. The project would be located on 100 acres at Commerce Road and Walmsley Boulevard on property currently owned by Philip Morris USA.
Meanwhile, the Baltimore-based Cordish Companies is proposing a $600 million project on the Movieland site in Richmond's Scott's Addition neighborhood that would feature a 250,000-square-foot casino, a hotel with more than 300 rooms, a 4,000-capacity live entertainment venue and 40,000 square feet of multiuse event space. The developer's other projects have included five casino resorts under the Hard Rock and Live! Casino & Hotel banners. The Bally's Corporation casino would feature a casino, sports book, hotel, resort-style pool, dining and retail outlets, and a flexible space for live entertainment and conferences. Bally's estimates that the casino would attract approximately 3.7 million visitors annually and generate about $415 million in total gross revenue each year.
Golden Nugget, which owns five other casinos in Nevada, Louisiana, New Jersey, and Mississippi, claims its 950,000-square-foot project would create more than 1,200 local jobs and feature five restaurants, 177 hotel rooms and a 1,500-seat venue. If selected, the project would be led by casino executive Lorenzo Creighton.
Finally, Wind Creek's proposal would be built in two phases and would include 100,000 square feet of casino gaming space and two 252-room hotel towers. The developer expects the project to generate $35.3 million in new revenue for local businesses and 1,535 new jobs with an average salary of $51,800 once it is up and running.
Convergence Strategy Group, the consultant hired by the city's Economic Development Authority to help evaluate casino proposals, will hold a series of virtual community engagement meetings beginning on March 9. They also plan to canvas neighborhoods to gather community feedback on the plans, according to a city news release. The Richmond casino referendum is expected to be held on Nov. 2.
