Richmond baseball stadium deadlines made public
Updated May 1, 6 p.m. According to a now-public development agreement, design work for Richmond‘s new baseball stadium would begin this month and construction would start in August 2024 and finish by December 2025, if all goes to plan. The agreement also requires that the Richmond Flying Squirrels sign a stadium lease by J[...]
Rain and wind delay Something in the Water’s start
Rain and high winds delayed the start of Pharrell Williams’ Virginia Beach music festival Something in the Water by about four hours Friday, leaving fans and businesses waiting for the weather to clear. Scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m. Friday, the festival was delayed until 5 p.m. Instead of being filled with throngs of mu[...]
Regional TIDs generate tourism marketing bucks
Tourism improvement districts are new to Virginia, but they’ve been in place elsewhere for two decades. Designated areas that raise funds for tourism marketing through hotel assessments, TIDs were passed by the Virginia General Assembly in 2021, and a Richmond-area TID is expected to launch this year. “There are more than 200 TIDs already in […]
Old Town Business league to upgrade or dissolve
Carla Clarke credits Old Town Business (OTB) league with arranging events that bring new faces into Today’s Cargo, the jewelry and gift shop she co-owns on Alexandria’s King Street. “It’s bringing new people through your door,” says Clarke. The 40-year-old nonprofit business league champions Old Town’[...]
May 2023 Top Five
The top five most-read daily news stories on VirginiaBusiness.com from March 14 to April 13 included Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder’s efforts to sell the Ashburn-based NFL team to a group of bidders including Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris and NBA legend Magic Johnson. 1 | Naval operations building in Suffolk sells for $33M Home […]
Pack your bags
Although hospitality in Northern Virginia is taking its time toward a full comeback, there are a few signs that the industry is bouncing back — chiefly midweek hotel bookings. Business travelers, the bread and butter of Washington, D.C.’s hospitality industry, are more likely to purchase last-minute plane tickets that co[...]
Va. Beach hotels may not sell out for SITW
Something in the Water, the three-day Virginia Beach music festival helmed by music superstar Pharrell Williams, is a big economic deal for Hampton Roads — but whether area hotels will sell out is still up in the air. As of Thursday evening, a quick scan of Expedia.com showed some remaining rooms near the Virginia Beach [&hell[...]
Lottery approves Danville Caesars casino’s license
UPDATED: April 26, 4 p.m. The Virginia Lottery Board approved the facility operator’s license for Danville‘s $650 million Caesars Virginia casino, which is expected to open in a temporary space on May 15. It’s the third casino to receive state approval, following the Hard Rock casino in Bristol and Rivers Cas[...]
Richmond baseball stadium agreement reached — with year delay
The city of Richmond has reached an agreement with developers RVA Diamond Partners on the $2.44 billion Diamond District development and a new baseball stadium expected to open in spring 2026 — a year later than Major League Baseball’s April 2025 deadline. Now it’s up to MLB to decide whether to grant the city an [[...]
Va. tourism pitch hits Saks Fifth Ave. windows
New Yorkers and Manhattan visitors will spot an intriguing sight at the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship department store — two windows featuring a Virginia tourism campaign. Virginia Tourism Corp., United Airlines and Saks partnered to highlight three high-end resorts in Virginia — the Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club in Vi[...]
Fed Fifth District economy shrinks slightly
The economy in the Federal Reserve’s Fifth District (a multistate region including Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Maryland) has contracted slightly since March, according to the latest edition of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, released Wednesday. Published eight times per year, the Be[...]
Chesterfield hires first sports/visitation/entertainment exec
Chesterfield County has hired J.C. Poma as its first executive director of sports, visitation and entertainment, with a focus on growing sports tourism, the county announced Friday. Currently the vice president of community relations for regional marketing organization Richmond Region Tourism, Poma will start his new position wi[...]