Hospitality | Tourism 2023: CLYDE STACY

A former coal mining executive who headed Rapoca Energy, Stacy is a prominent developer and investor in his hometown of Bristol. He purchased the vacant Bristol Mall for $2.6 million in 2018 and partnered with longtime friend Jim McGlothlin, chairman of The United Co., to build Virginia’s first casino. The two friends were instrumental in changing state gambling laws to allow casinos in economically challenged Virginia cities.

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol, a $400 million development, is slated to open next summer. Expected to generate as many as 1,500 jobs, the resort casino will also include a 3,200-seat performance venue and a 20,000-person outdoor entertainment space. A temporary casino opened in 2021.

Stacy was an investor in Dharma Pharmaceuticals, a licensed medical cannabis processor that was acquired in 2021 by Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries for $80 million. In October 2020, the company was the first in Virginia to dispense medical marijuana after the General Assembly loosened cannabis laws. Dharma Pharmaceuticals’ founders filed a lawsuit against Par Ventures, claiming Dharma is owed more than $7 million in relocation expenses for moving out of the Bristol Mall in 2021.