The $550 million permanent Hard Rock Casino & Hotel in Bristol, VA has delayed its opening, originally scheduled for next month, to later in the year, the property announced June 5. No new date has yet been set.
Officials said in a statement that the delay was motivated by a desire to provide a better guest experience.
Rather than “opening the permanent casino in stages beginning in July,” the plan is now to “ have a grand opening with a fully operational casino and amenities” at a later date.
According to WJHL in Bristol, Hard Rock also said it was granted an additional six months to finish the project under existing legislation because it had met all financial commitments and opened a temporary facility that will eventually be part of the permanent casino.
The temporary Bristol casino opened in July 2022 in a former Belk department store next to the permanent location. It houses approximately 900 slots, 30 tables and a sportsbook, and last year generated about $160 million in gross gaming revenue.
Hard Rock Bristol President Allie Evangelista said in a statement that the “extension allows us time to ensure the finished product exceeds the expectations of our guests and the community,” and noted that in the meantime, the “response to our temporary casino has been overwhelmingly positive.”
Since it was first proposed in 2019, the permanent Bristol casino has ballooned in price from the $300 million initial projection to $400 million when construction began in late 2022. That number then grew to $550 million by February of this year.
The completed venue will feature 1,500 slots, 75 tables and a larger Hard Rock-branded sportsbook. Amenities will include 300 hotel rooms, dining options, retail and two music venues—a 3,200-seat Hard Rock Live indoor theater and an outdoor amphitheater with seating for up to 20,000.
Given that Bristol lies in close proximity to both North Carolina and Tennessee, both of which don’t allow commercial casinos, the property is expected to have a big out-of-state draw.
Virginia lawmakers in 2020 legalized casinos in up to five cities: Bristol, Danville, Portsmouth, Norfolk and Richmond. But Richmond voters twice rejected a referendum there, and ultimately Petersburg became the final jurisdiction earlier this year.
In Bristol, the city council selected Hard Rock’s proposal to operate its allocated casino and local voters approved the referendum with a 71 percent majority in the November 2020 election.
