In Virginia, the media company Urban One and operator Churchill Downs announced new details on their proposed $562 million casino resort in Richmond.
Recently a judge ruled that the city could in fact hold a second casino referendum in November; voters narrowly rejected the first one held in 2021. Also, the recently approved, long-delayed state budget will not stop the casino vote.
According to the developers, the project, which has been rebranded to Richmond Grand Resort & Casino, will offer a gaming floor with slots and table games including poker, blackjack, craps and roulette. The facility also will include a 250-room luxury hotel with a luxury spa, fitness center, outdoor pool and cabanas.
Also featured at the venue will be a 55-acre park for concerts, pickleball, festivals, farmer’s markets and other events, a 3,000-seat concert venue and convention and meeting space. Food and beverage options will include fine dining, local restaurants, breweries and local suppliers. Film and audio production facilities also will be available.
Officials said the venue will create “thousands of union jobs during construction” and 1,300 new jobs that “average $55,000 in annual compensation and benefits.”
In addition, officials said the facility will attract 225,000 tourists annually and generate $30 million in annual tax revenue. Also, the developers will make an immediate investment of $26.5 million in Richmond and donate $16 million in charitable contributions over 10 years. And, the production facilities will produce $50 million in television, film and audio production over 10 years.
Urban One Chief Executive Officer Alfred Liggins III said, “Richmonders told us they want great jobs, community investment, greenspace and top-tier entertainment. With Richmond Grand, we’ve delivered. Richmond Grand will offer something for everyone: incredible shows, exciting gaming and entertainment, outdoor recreation, luxurious spas and pools and a huge addition of jobs and tax revenue for the city. This is a plan by Richmond, for Richmond, and when we vote yes, all of Richmond wins.”
Meanwhile, at a news conference, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney announced that an estimated $30 million in annual gaming tax from the proposed casino would go toward an early childhood education trust fund.
He told reporters, “I am pleased to announce that we plan to establish the first ever Childcare and Education Trust Fund using the gaming tax revenues from the destination resort and casino if approved this November. This is a groundbreaking approach that will address both affordability and capacity.”
Stoney said trust fund money would go to two new early childcare centers that “will be privately operated and serve up to 100 kids each. Secondly, we will dedicate $8 million to parks and recreation projects across the city,” he said.
Former city council candidate and casino opponent Allan-Charles Chipman said the city earlier received more than $275 million from the American Rescue Plan Act and allocated only $2 million to the childcare crisis.
Now, according to WTVR, he said the city is relying on “unreliable economic projections from the casino developers. I think it’s a terrible idea to rob the parents to pay the kids. I don’t feel comfortable that developers and private interests get to come to the bargaining table to get what they want, but Southside has to go to the blackjack table to get what they want. To do what’s virtuous and support our kids, we don’t have to rely on vices.”
Chipman added the “do-over” casino referendum disregards the will of Richmond voters.
Per WTVR, he said, “I don’t think we can afford a roll of the dice for our democracy because developers and politicians didn’t get the election results they wanted. The first referendum was about a casino. This referendum we need to focus on do we want to say our democracy is for sale or not, or do we want to say that referendums count and stand for something in Richmond.”
Richmond was one of five Virginia cities authorized by the legislature in 2019 to host a casino. Voter referendums passed in the other four cities—Norfolk, Bristol, Portsmouth and Danville—where casinos already are operating.
Early voting for the November 7 election will begin on September 22.
