Hard Rock Bristol to open permanent facility Nov. 14
The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol will open its approximately $515 million permanent facility on Nov. 14, with country music star Blake Shelton making an appearance at the ceremony, its development team announced Wednesday. The temporary Bristol Casino: Future Home of Hard Rock opened July 8, 2022, making it Virginia’s[...]
A glass half full
Robin Rogers beckons visitors on a summer hard-hat tour of the expanded Chrysler Museum’s Perry Glass Studio into the primary theater space. Though the space with a catwalk and second floor raked seating will hold 220 people, twice as many as the old space, it will retain the intimacy visitors have enjoyed during demonstra[...]
Chips on the table
This story has been updated since publication. For Roy Corby, Hampton Roads evokes vacation vibes. He grew up in Ocean City, New Jersey, but his family vacationed regularly in Virginia Beach for a change in seaside scenery. Nearly two years ago, Corby returned to open and run Rivers Casino Portsmouth as its general manager. It[...]
Norfolk Council moves delayed casino forward
Updated Sept. 11, 2024 Norfolk will have a temporary casino open by next November and a permanent resort in 2027 if all goes to plan, as the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and casino giant Boyd Gaming, its new corporate partner, received a fresh start on the long-delayed project from Norfolk City Council on Tuesday. City Council [&hellip[...]
Richmond Flying Squirrels’ new stadium will be CarMax Park
With confetti flying and a DJ playing walk-up music for Richmond’s mayor and other luminaries, the Richmond Flying Squirrels announced Wednesday that Fortune 500 company CarMax will be naming sponsor for the Squirrels’ new ballpark starting with the 2026 season. The replacement for the Richmond Diamond will be known [...]
Alexandria Restaurant Partners promotes CFO
Nazia Millwala has been promoted to chief financial officer for the Alexandria Restaurant Partners, the restaurant operator announced Monday. Millwala joined ARP in January 2022 as the vice president of finance, and she helped restructure ARP’s financial framework. In her new role, she will lead the company’s finances and pe[...]
Va. tourism generated $33.3B for 2023
Virginia’s tourism industry generated $33.3 billion in visitor spending in 2023, an increase of nearly 10% over 2022, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday. “The commonwealth’s record-breaking visitor spending numbers are a testament to our abundance of attractions and unique destinations,” Gov. Youngkin stated in a news release. Virginia’s tourism industry supported over 224,000 jobs in […][...]
Connecticut firm sues former Diamond District partners for $40M
A Connecticut-based developer, Republic Projects, has filed a $40 million lawsuit against its former partners in Richmond’s $2.44 billion Diamond District project, a city-backed mixed-use development that includes a replacement for the 40-year-old Diamond baseball stadium. Republic Projects, the plaintiff in the lawsuit fi[...]
Retro Hospitality adds three hotels to portfolio
Richmond-based boutique hotel advisory and management firm Retro Hospitality has added three Virginia hotels to its portfolio, the firm announced Wednesday. The company now operates The Bee and The Holbrook Hotel in Danville and The Lofts at Downtown Salem in Salem. Other hotels in its portfolio include the Blackburn Inn and Con[...]
Hard Rock Bristol delays permanent casino 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 its approximately $515 million permanent casino resort in late fall. The team — a joint venture between Hard Rock, Par Ventures President Clyde Stacy and The Unit[...]
Fed’s Fifth District shows modest economic growth
The economy in the Federal Reserve’s Fifth District (a multistate region including Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Maryland) grew modestly in recent weeks, according to the latest edition of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, released May 29. Published eight times per year, the Beige Book is based[...]