Petersburg promises more details next week on partnership with casino developer
PETERSBURG — It will be at least the first part of next week before we know the extent of a partnership between the city and a Maryland-based developer to bring a casino entertainment complex to Petersburg, but one thing we do know now is that Petersburg is not paying that developer for the work.
City Council approved the agreement with The Cordish Companies after a closed-session earlier this week. However, the city is keeping the details of the agreement on the down-low until the company makes its official presentation Tuesday afternoon.
Wednesday, Mayor Sam Parham was still keeping the agreement close to the vest, opting instead to laud the fact that Cordish "just say that they believe in Petersburg." He also confirmed that the city is not paying Cordish for the partnership.
"They believe in the partnership," Parham said. "They even believe in what can and cannot happen here."
In its own statement issued earlier this week, Cordish said it was "honored and excited" to work with Petersburg "to help realize its revitalization vision" for the city.
“Urban revitalization is at the heartbeat of The Cordish Companies’ DNA," Zed Smith, the chief operating officer of the company, said in the statement. Smith said Cordish envisioned a mixed-use project of entertainment and retail, with the casino being a cornerstone of that development.
Whatever the plans will be, the fact that Petersburg has chosen a developer for the project reinforces its stance that the city should be the fifth and final casino host locality in Virginia. On Monday, the Joint Legislative Audit Review Commission released a report touting Petersburg's viability to have a minimum $300 million casino and resort complex. However, the report also seemed to refuel Richmond's unsuccessful push to be a destination as well, saying that separate casinos could be sustained in both cities.
The report stated that a Petersburg casino could generate as much as $204 million in net gaming revenue for the state its first year in operation as well as $12.2 million in local tax revenue, and create almost 1,300 new jobs. Combined, though, casinos in both Petersburg and Richmond would generate roughly $349 million in statewide gaming revenue, but cut down on the size, scope and impact that a Petersburg-only casino would have..
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The leading candidate for Petersburg's casino complex location continues to be Wagner Road in south Petersburg across from the entrance to Bon Secours Southside Medical Center. Backers of the casino have pushed its proximity to Interstate 95 as a major attraction to the site.
Cordish is very familiar with the casino scene in central Virginia. It was one of several vendors who bid on the Richmond casino project, losing out to media mogul Urban One and its proposal to build a $565 million complex in south Richmond.
According to its promotional materials, Cordish's calling card is the "Live!" brand of entertainment and gaming complexes across the United States. Its developments include Hard Rock casinos and hotels in Tampa and Hollywood, Florida; Live! gaming venues in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh; and the Maryland Live! resort in Arundel Mills, Maryland.
Its other economic initiatives include the Inner Harbor in Baltimore; and venues in Charleston, South Carolina, and Kansas City, Missouri.
Smith's statement cited the recent "Partnership for Petersburg" initiative brokered earlier this year by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
"We share Governor Youngkin, Mayor Parham and the Petersburg City Council’s commitment to create a world-class entertainment destination and mixed-use project with gaming that will generate millions of dollars in tax revenues and spinoff economic development, create thousands of new jobs and benefits to the local community, and become a major new tourist destination for the city," it read.
Urban One has vowed to back Richmond's casino efforts through intense lobbying of the 2023 Virginia General Assembly. State Sen. Joe Morrissey, a Democrat whose district includes both Petersburg and south Richmond, said he will introduce legislation next year that would remove Richmond from the list of five casino hosts in Virginia — Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth are the others — and insert Petersburg.
On Wednesday, Parham stopped short of saying Cordish would enhance Petersburg's lobbying efforts next year, but the company is in fact expected to have an impact on them. Parham did say that the company is helping the city vet potential businesses for the site.
Cordish is expected to make its presentation at 4 p.m. Oct. 25 in the Petersburg Public Library.
The earliest that a casino could open here is 2027, officials say.
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Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on Twitter at @BAtkinson_PI.
This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Petersburg selects Maryland casino developer for future project
