Norfolk casino developer pledges $1M to NSU

The gaming company behind the $750 million Norfolk casino pledged $1 million to Norfolk State University to support its business school’s tourism and hospitality management program.

Boyd Gaming, which is developing the still-unnamed Norfolk casino with the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, will be the title sponsor of NSU‘s Boyd Gaming Department of Tourism & Hospitality Management, the company announced Friday.

“We are pleased to enter into this partnership with one of the leading gaming corporations in the United States,” NSU President Javaune Adams-Gaston said in a statement. “Our Department of Tourism & Hospitality is the perfect place to prepare the next generation of gaming professionals.”

Construction began in February on the long-awaited casino, which is expected to create 850 jobs . The resort casino was approved by Norfolk voters in fall 2020, but construction was delayed due to conflicts over design plans between Norfolk City Council and the developers. An earlier partnership between the Pamunkey tribe and Tennessee investor Jon Yarbrough ended last year, and Boyd Gaming entered the picture. At that time, Boyd and the tribe scrapped the casino’s previously announced branding as the HeadWaters Resort & Casino.

In September 2024, Norfolk City Council approved the development agreement between the city, the tribe and Boyd, and since then, the project has moved forward. A temporary casino is expected to be completed late this year, with the permanent casino resort is expected to open in late 2027.

The permanent casino will have 1,500 slot machines, 50 table games, a 200-room hotel, eight food and beverage outlets, a 45,000-square-foot outdoor amenity deck and live entertainment.

Earlier this week, the two casino partners granted Old Dominion University and Tidewater Community College $50,000 each to help develop education and training programs to support the casino’s workforce needs. In October 2024, the casino partners gave $100,000 to NSU.

Boyd Gaming and the Pamunkey Tribe “look forward to working closely with our friends and partners at NSU in the years ahead as we build a best-in-class team and create exciting career opportunities for Norfolk State graduates at our resort,” Ron Bailey, vice president and general manager of the Norfolk casino, said in a statement.

Boyd Gaming operates 28 gaming properties in 10 states, manages a tribal casino in California and owns and operates Boyd Interactive, an online casino gaming business. The company also is a 5% equity owner of FanDuel Group, a sports betting operator.

Virginia has three operating casinos in Danville, Bristol and Portsmouth, and construction on the $1.4 billion Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia in Petersburg began in March.