Bristol casino ups the ante for opening

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol’s development team has pushed back the opening of the permanent casino, previously expected in July, and will instead open the approximately $515 million permanent casino resort in late fall.

The team — a joint venture between Hard Rock, Par Ventures President Clyde Stacy and The United Co. Chairman Jim McGlothlin — announced the change in plans June 5.

“I think sometimes people forget [Hard Rock is] not just a casino company,” says Allie Evangelista, president of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol. “And that’s why we’re not so focused on rushing into opening a casino floor, because we really want people to see us for who we are as an entertainment and hospitality business.”

The temporary Bristol Casino: Future Home of Hard Rock opened July 8, 2022, becoming Virginia’s first operating casino. The 30,000-square-foot casino in the
former Bristol Mall has about 900 slots, 29 table games and a sportsbook. It also has a restaurant, a sports bar and lounge, and a grab-and-go food outlet.

The permanent resort casino is expected to have a 303-room hotel, more than 1,500 slots, 75 table games, new dining venues and a 2,000-seat indoor entertainment venue.

“As a business, for us, this is a lot more exciting because we were opening a casino floor rather than opening the full Hard Rock experience,” says Evangelista, “and being able to open everything at once … allows us to really have a great first impression.”

Plus, she says, guests won’t experience construction-related disruptions.

Now that the full casino resort will open all at once, rather than in phases, “we believe the construction is redoing their timeline, because you don’t have to [put up] temporary wall things, [and] you don’t have to go around operations, so we believe we can pick up some time,” says Evangelista. The developers are waiting for the construction team — TN Ward and BurWil Construction — to provide a more specific timeframe.

The extended timeline follows a 2024-2026 state budget amendment that allowed temporary casino operators who met certain conditions to conduct gaming for six additional months past the previously codified two-year limit.

As of June 7, the Bristol Hard Rock had 619 employees, and 200 more people were set to onboard once they acquired their Virginia Lottery licenses. The resort’s full employment goal is 1,400 employees, Evangelista says.