Petersburg Picks Cordish On line casino, Metropolis Transparency Questioned
The Petersburg Metropolis Council on Wednesday night selected The Cordish Corporations as its most popular on line casino developer. Earlier than floor may be damaged on the Baltimore-based Stay! on line casino operator’s proposed mission, native voters should first authorize its creation by way of a citywide poll referendum this fall.
Petersburg residents attend a city corridor on April 14 to listen to concerning the Virginia metropolis’s proposed on line casino developments. The Petersburg Metropolis Council voted unanimously on April 24 to go along with Stay! On line casino & Resort Virginia, a scheme from Baltimore-based Cordish Corporations. (Picture: CBS6 Information Richmond)
The Petersburg Metropolis Council unanimously picked Cordish over 5 different firms that threw their names within the bidding hat. Cordish was chosen over on line casino pitches from Bally’s Company, Penn Leisure, Delaware North, The Warrenton Group, and Rush Road Gaming.
Cordish pitched Petersburg a $1.4 billion mixed-use growth on 92 acres of land positioned at Wagner Rd. and Interstate 95 south of the downtown space. Anchored by Stay! On line casino & Resort Virginia, the proposal seeks to develop into a serious vacationer vacation spot in Central Virginia.
Together with Cordish, the mission features a 50% minority fairness participation led by Bruce Smith Enterprise, the true property growth agency owned by Virginia native and NFL Corridor of Famer Bruce Smith, the Reynolds household, which owns Reynolds Metals in Richmond, and former NFL participant and Virginia native Invoice McMullen.
The $1.4 billion price ticket is inclusive of a number of growth phases, with the on line casino and lodge accounting for less than a portion. The remaining parts of the mixed-use enterprise — residential, retail, and workplace area — would are available in subsequent growth levels after the on line casino and lodge are up and working.
Metropolis Council Defends Course of
When Petersburg was first thought of for a on line casino alternative in 2022, metropolis councilors introduced Cordish as their most popular gaming companion. The announcement got here after no aggressive bidding course of, one thing that was criticized by many locally that’s positioned about 25 miles south of the Richmond capital.
Petersburg officers pledged extra transparency this time round, however Wednesday evening’s vote left many questioning if Cordish had the mission within the bag all alongside. Metropolis councilors rapidly left the assembly with out speaking to the press.
Councilor Howard Myers, a former Petersburg mayor, subsequently issued a press release concerning the vote. It detailed little as to how the council arrived at selecting Cordish.
Town of Petersburg has been grossly underrated and disenfranchised for many years. As a former mayor and member of town council, my respect for Mayor Samuel Parham for main the staff is unmatched as my successor within the drive to perform the best feats of a metropolis damaged by the colour of its pores and skin. We, the Metropolis Council, are pleased with these accomplishments and additional maintain our residents within the highest regard for his or her future and monetary well-being. Petersburg, a metropolis that modified a World Society setting the stage for the Civil Rights Motion out of Gillfield Baptist Church with the resilience of a greater future for the Commonwealth of Virginia and the world,” Myers declared.
Myers did add that Cordish was deemed the most effective proposal of the six by Davenport & Co., town’s monetary advisor that reviewed the shows. Representatives from the six bidding organizations made their instances earlier than the Metropolis Council on Wednesday in a closed-door 90-minute session earlier than the council’s public vote.
Subsequent Steps
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) returned Senate Invoice 628 to the Common Meeting earlier this month after amending the laws to take away a reenactment clause that may have required state lawmakers to vote once more on designating Petersburg as an eligible host metropolis for a on line casino. Final week, each legislative chambers authorized the governor’s change, which enacted the invoice and formally qualifies Petersburg for business gaming with slot machines, desk video games, and sports activities betting.
With the on line casino scheme chosen, metropolis officers will now write the referendum language that can seem on Petersburg’s November 2024 poll. If a easy majority backs the Cordish mission, the on line casino will probably be cleared to maneuver ahead.
Cordish says Stay! On line casino & Resort Virginia will include 1,000 slots, 23 reside seller tables, a 15-table poker site, a high-limit room, and a sportsbook. The resort will characteristic 200 lodge rooms and suites, a 3,000-seat leisure venue, eight eating places and bars, a resort pool, a health heart, and 35,000 sq. ft of assembly area.
