Advertisement

Header Utility Menu

  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Events

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram Get Our App

  • Login

Virginia Business

Mobile Menu

  • Issues
  • Industries
    • Banking/Finances
    • Business Law
    • Commercial Real Estate
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Energy/Green
    • Federal Contracting
    • Government
    • Healthcare
    • Hotels/Tourism
    • Insurance
    • Ports/Trade
    • Small Business
    • Technology
    • Transportation
  • Regions
    • Central Virginia
    • Eastern Virginia
    • Northern Virginia
    • Roanoke/New River Valley
    • Shenandoah Valley
    • Southern Virginia
    • Southwest Virginia
  • Reports
    • Best Places to Work
    • Business Person of the Year
    • CEO Pay
    • Coronavirus 2020
    • Generous Virginians Project
    • Legal Elite
    • Most Influential Virginians
    • Maritime Guide
    • Site Locator
    • The Big Book
    • Virginia CFO Awards
  • Company News
    • For the Record
    • People
  • Opinion
  • Lists
  • Awards/Events
    • Diversity Leadership Series
    • Vote Now for Women in Leadership
    • Virginia 500
    • Legal Elite
    • CFO Awards
    • Big Book of Lists
    • 100 People To Meet
    • Best Places To Work
  • Virginia 500
    • Read the issue
    • Order a copy
    • Buy an award plaque
    • Nominate execs for 2021

Advertisement

Header Primary Menu

  • virginiabusiness.com
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Home News Regions Casino competitors roll the dice in Richmond

Casino competitors roll the dice in Richmond

Published April 29, 2021 by Kate Andrews

The Cordish Cos.’ $600 million Live! Casino & Hotel is one of two casino proposals still under consideration in Richmond. Rendering courtesy The Cordish Cos.
The Cordish Cos.’ $600 million Live! Casino & Hotel is one of two casino proposals still under consideration in Richmond. Rendering courtesy The Cordish Cos.

Two operators are battling it out to build a casino in Richmond, the final city where a casino can be built in Virginia under current state law. Later in May, an advisory panel is expected to recommend a casino proposal for consideration by Richmond City Council and, ultimately, city voters in November.

Richmonders worried about crime and increased traffic in their neighborhoods have blasted the proposed $600 million Live! Casino & Hotel from The Cordish Cos., which would be built just outside the trendy Scott’s Addition neighborhood. Urban One’s $600 million ONE casino, which would be built on 100 acres owned by Altria Group Inc. off Interstate 95 in a largely industrial area, has faced less pushback.

Cordish’s pitch for its 300-room Live! Casino & Hotel resort includes a pledge to pay the city $200 million over 15 years to “help fund critical community services such as education, infrastructure, health care, parks [and] recreation, workforce development and affordable housing.”

In April, the city cut Bally’s Corp.’s $650 million casino proposal, which was proposed for Richmond’s Stratford Hills neighborhood, because of site access and permitting factors. Bally’s President and CEO George Papanier said the company was “disappointed and surprised” by the city’s decision to nix its proposal, which would have included a $100 million upfront payment to the city.

Residents near the Bally’s and Live! sites have spoken out against the proposals, while others are asking whether the city needs a casino at all, despite significant concerns about aging school infrastructure and other budget items that could be assisted by tax income generated from a casino.

In March, anonymous flyers distributed around the city’s North Side voiced opposition to the Cordish proposal, asking residents to “tell them to build it over there,” referring to Richmond’s less affluent and more racially diverse South Side.

City Councilor Michael Jones, who represents a district next to the ONE casino location, tweeted that he was “thoroughly disgusted by this rhetoric,” adding that “the South Side is not the North Side’s trash can or red light district.”

Unlike Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth, where voters overwhelmingly approved casinos last November, it’s possible Richmond could reject a casino, says Rich Meagher, an associate professor of political science at Randolph-Macon College. Aside from “progressive folks who don’t want a casino,” nonscientific polls by local officials and Nextdoor comments show considerable opposition.

But, Meagher notes, once the dust settles and City Council chooses a project for voters to consider — particularly if it is Urban One’s plan — “concerns could evaporate,” and “Richmond could return to the dynamic that casinos are fine.”

Subscribe to Virginia Business. Get our daily e-newsletter.

Related Stories

Virginia Business logo

New international grocery store coming to Richmond

Virginia Business logo

Dominion says 50 percent of its electricity in 2013 came from carbon-free sources

Virginia Business logo

Publix continues to expand in the Richmond region

Trending

Finance/Insurance: STEPHAN Q. CASSADAY

Finance/Insurance: PAUL B. MANNING

Federal Contractors/Technology: JASON PROVIDAKES

Education: ANNE M. KRESS

Artemis I to launch with help from Va. contractors

Sponsored Stories

Why is my Less Than Truckload (LTL) freight pricing going up and my service level going down?  

Beyond Juneteenth – How Capital One is Commemorating and Implementing Change

How We Help Your Business Operate Better

Before the Breach: Get Serious About Cyber Resilience

Professionals are Discovering What it Means to Live Uniquely in the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia

Riverside Logistics Celebrates 25th Anniversary!

Girls for a Change Empowers Black Youth for the Future Workforce

The Jackson Ward Collective is equipping Black-owned small businesses with the tools for success

Advertisement

Advertisement

Trending

Finance/Insurance: STEPHAN Q. CASSADAY

Finance/Insurance: PAUL B. MANNING

Federal Contractors/Technology: JASON PROVIDAKES

Education: ANNE M. KRESS

Artemis I to launch with help from Va. contractors

Sponsored Stories

Why is my Less Than Truckload (LTL) freight pricing going up and my service level going down?  

Beyond Juneteenth – How Capital One is Commemorating and Implementing Change

How We Help Your Business Operate Better

Before the Breach: Get Serious About Cyber Resilience

Professionals are Discovering What it Means to Live Uniquely in the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia

Riverside Logistics Celebrates 25th Anniversary!

Girls for a Change Empowers Black Youth for the Future Workforce

The Jackson Ward Collective is equipping Black-owned small businesses with the tools for success

Get Virginia Business directly on your tablet or in your mailbox!

Subscribe to Virginia Business

Advertisement

Advertisement

Footer Primary Menu

  • virginiabusiness.com
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Footer Secondary Menu

  • Industries
  • Regions
  • Reports
  • Company News
  • Events

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Sign Up

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram Get Our App

Privacy Policy Cookie Policy

Footer Utility Menu

Copyright © 2023 Virginia Business. All rights reserved.

Site Maintained by TechArk