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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 finance[...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
The retail experience
Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall entertains its Tea Club members with monthly tastings, while nearby New Dominion Bookshop offers story times and “Friday Night Writes,” an event featuring emerging writers. And about a mile north at McIntire Plaza, outdoor gear and clothing consignment shop H[...]
Atlantic Park expected to open in spring 2025
The $350 million Atlantic Park project backed by music icon Pharrell Williams in his hometown of Virginia Beach is progressing, with the 2.6-acre surf lagoon, entertainment venue and other pieces of the project expected to be delivered in spring 2025, Kathy Warren, Virginia Beach’s planning director, told the city council [...]
Va. casino gaming revenues total $60.1M in April
Virginia’s three casinos reported about $60.1 million in gaming revenues for April, according to Virginia Lottery data released last week. Last month, the Bristol Casino: Future Home of Hard Rock reported about $13.9 million in adjusted gaming revenues (wagers minus winnings), of which about $11 million came from its 903 s[...]
Visit Williamsburg names new CEO
The Williamsburg Tourism Council, also known as Visit Williamsburg, has named Edward Harris its new CEO, the organization announced Wednesday. Former CEO Victoria Cimino stepped down from the role in January after more than four years leading the destination marketing organization for Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown. With m[...]
Cashing in
In 2019, a state study forecast that if the General Assembly allowed five casinos to operate in five economically disadvantaged Virginia cities — Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Richmond — that one-third of the revenue generated would stem from out-of-state visitors. In other words, if you build it, casino backers[...]
