Summary
- This ongoing effort requires a voter referendum.
- Voters have already vetoed the plan once before.
- The casino would cost $562.5 million to construct.
Bringing a casino to Virginia has been a long and drawn-out effort.
In 2019, the state’s lawmakers passed legislation to allow five casinos, each in an economically struggling area. Richmond was part of the group along with Bristol, Norfolk, Danville, and Portsmouth. All but Richmond were able to come up with plans that residents liked and got the ball rolling.
Richmond officials decided to get a casino plan in place first, then hold a referendum in 2021 for the ONE Casino + Resort by Urban One. Voters rejected the plan by around 1,200 votes. Now, the city council is trying again and will put a casino referendum on the ballot to see if the casino can come to fruition.
Council Members Push Ahead
On Monday, the Richmond City Council took the initial steps to put another referendum on the November ballot for a casino in the city. Voters are being asked to reconsider the proposal to bring the ONE Casino + Resort to the area.
Council members voted in approval for the plan as well as approving a host community agreement with RVA Entertainment Holdings. An agreement was also signed between the city, the developer and Richmond VA Management LLC. This gives $25.5 million to the city from the developer if the referendum is passed in 2023. There will also be a $1 million bonus to the city once the financing portion of the deal is completed.
What the Casino Will Offer
The ONE Casino + Resort will bring jobs as well as tourism to the area, helping to stimulate the struggling economy. The casino will include a hotel with 250 guest rooms plus production studios for radio, film, and television.
The property consists of 97 acres and is located on the South Side of Richmond. The property is owned by Altria Group Inc., near Interstate 95. The city expects the new venue to bring in around 1,300 jobs via the casino. Annual tax revenues could reach $30 million.
It is unclear if the project has enough support to move forward. After the previous negative vote for the project, it was suspected that racial issues might be at play. Urban One would be the first all-black owned casino operator and it was mostly white areas of the city that voted against the casino. The same concerns that always arise with any casino project were suggested including an increase in crime and traffic.
It will be interesting to see if Urban One is able to receive enough support and how the vote will play out. It was such a small margin of loss last time, the company may be able to rally and see the referendum passed to bring the casino plan to fruition.
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