A November groundbreaking is expected for Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Bristol, Virginia.
Bristol Casino President Allie Evangelista said, “We are very excited. We will have a groundbreaking ceremony in the next few weeks. We should be starting some additional demo, potentially as early as next week. We are ready to move forward and will be opening spring-summer of 2024.”
Evangelista added, “We should see some construction equipment as early as next week. Our construction company has been on standby so they are ready to start. We should see some changes, some noise, some dust, very soon. Pretty much everything we communicated we were going to bring to Bristol, and some more, have been approved so we are ready to roll.”
Meanwhile, the temporary Bristol Casino, which opened July 8, generated $40.3 million in adjusted gross revenue through September, including tax revenue of $7.2 million for the state and $2.4 million for local governments. Bristol Casino also generated $22,900 for area charities and is partnering with a regional food bank and the Salvation Army this month, Evangelista said, according to Virginia Lottery Board figures.
Official data also indicated most of the casino visitors came from host city Bristol, where 1,100 residents made a total of 4,456 visits, about 8 percent of the city’s total adult population. More than 18,300 players made a total of 78,490 visits to the casino.
Official data showed more than half of the temporary venue’s patrons have come from within a 50-mile radius, including 10 northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia areas. Nearly 30 percent of the casino’s guests came from Sullivan and Washington counties in Tennessee; they account for 40 percent of the total visits from the casino’s opening through September.
Evangelista noted, “Not having a hotel and a destination resort, we expect to be more of a locals market and people driving within maybe 100 miles is basically what we’re seeing the most right now. That is very traditional in markets like this. Our demographic and our visits will change quite a bit once we have a hotel, too.”
She said more than 50,000 members have already enrolled in the casino’s customer loyalty program. “I think where we’re surprised and maybe we didn’t expect to be as high as the number of signups. Having 50,000 people in our database after four months of operation is very strong and about double what we expected, which is good for us,” she said.
Looking ahead, Evangelista said fewer total guests visit casinos during the holiday season, but Bristol Casino is planning a gala New Year’s Eve party. “We get really busy between Christmas and New Year’s. We are really excited planning a really fun evening for New Year’s Eve. Lots of things are in the works so we’ll invite our guests to spend New Year’s Eve with us and ring in 2023,” she said.
