The City Council of Petersburg, Virginia, unanimously selected the casino operator The Cordish Companies on Tuesday to develop a $1.4 billion casino resort in the southeastern corner of Petersburg. The project to be developed in three stages over a 15-year period is promising for the city economy but also faces contingencies.
Project contingencies:
“Just because the council voted tonight doesn’t mean this is a done deal,” said City Manager John March Altman after the meeting. The major contingencies include the General Assembly’s approval that casino gaming is compliant with the state legislature and the proposed casino project in Richmond less than 25 miles away from the Cordish’s planned facility. This project was rejected by voters last year, but Cordish still considers it a major competition concern.
Preferred partner:
Cordish Companies‘ presentation provided the first detailed insight into the project for the public, which responded positively. Cordish Chief Operating Officer Zed Smith described the casino project as “a once-in-a-generation opportunity.”
Cordish was selected as the preferred suitor by the City Council almost two months ago when its members adopted a resolution to cooperate with the company in the development of the casino resort. The council also approved a consulting agreement then with The Speller Consulting Group for recommending a casino operator and site. Petersburg agreed to pay the company, owned by Lisa Speller, $5,000 a month under a consulting addendum. Speller informed on Tuesday she had considered five potential casino developers on behalf of the city.
Richmond project update:
Last year, Cordish was selected as the favored partner to develop a casino resort in Richmond. The company has secured some $180 million in funding from local minority-run businesses to help realize its proposed Live! Casino and Hotel Richmond development. This project is expected to complete by the end of 2023. Smith said on the occasion: “Although we are in the gaming business, we are also primarily in the economic development business.”
Petersburg casino project features:
The initial stage of the project would include a 200-room hotel and dining and retail facilities in the 230,000-square-foot casino building. Subject to state approval of Petersburg as an eligible host city allowing casino gaming, the first phase of the project would be completed in about two years. In 2020, the General Assembly approved casino gaming in five other cities following the voters’ approval.
Regulator’s assessment:
Voters in Richmond approved only one casino resort proposed in South Richmond in 2021. After the revision sought by Richmond, Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission found that both cities could support casinos. The Commission’s study, released on October 17, said that the proposed casino in Petersburg could annually generate $204 million in gaming revenue and create about 1,300 jobs. The study also assessed that a casino in Richmond would generate about $300 million and 2,000 jobs within the same time frame.
If both cities develop casinos, the Commission said that the Petersburg facility would reduce the annual gaming revenue by $64 million and local taxes by around $4 million. Such a situation would also create 300 fewer jobs at the Petersburg casino.
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