Norfolk casino groundbreaking set for Oct. 30

Groundbreaking for Norfolk’s forthcoming casino is set to take place Oct. 30, according to a news release Tuesday.

The announcement of the event, which is slated to feature remarks by the CEO of Boyd Gaming, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe’s chief and Norfolk’s mayor, comes after the Norfolk City Council approved the project last month after multiple delays.

The tribe announced in September that it has partnered with Las Vegas casino giant Boyd Gaming on the project, which will include a temporary casino and a permanent structure built near Harbor Park, with construction starting within a few weeks of each other early next year. Boyd replaces former partner Jon Yarbrough, who formed a limited liability company, Golden Eagle Consulting II, with the tribe’s gaming authority in 2020. Yarbrough is no longer affiliated with the casino, having sold his interest in the project to Boyd Gaming, which is now majority owner of Golden Eagle Consulting II.

The temporary casino is expected to meet the state’s deadline of November 2025, by which time a casino must be built and licensed by the Virginia Lottery under state law. According to paperwork filed with the city, construction of the “transitional casino” would begin in late February 2025 and be complete by mid-October 2025, with an opening date targeted for Nov. 5, 2025. The permanent casino’s construction would start in mid-January 2025 and be complete in August 2027, with its opening taking place the following month.

Cost estimates for both the temporary and permanent casinos have not yet been announced, and in September, Uri Clinton, Boyd Gaming’s general counsel and corporate secretary, said they’re “still under review.” Under state law, the permanent casino resort must cost at least $300 million.

According to a pitchbook for the project, the permanent casino resort will include a 200-room hotel, 13,000 square feet of meeting space, a casino with 1,500 slot machines and 50 table games, eight restaurants and bars, and 4,000 square feet of spa and gym space. The HeadWaters Resort & Casino name will no longer be used, and Boyd is working on a new name and brand for the casino.

Virginia’s casinos reported $56.56 million in September revenue, according to the Virginia Lottery.

Norfolk’s casino referendum was approved by local voters in 2020, along with three other casinos in Virginia — all of which are now up and running in Portsmouth, Danville and Bristol. The latter two cities opened temporary casinos but are set to open their permanent resorts this year. The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol is scheduled to host its grand opening ceremony Nov. 14, and Danville’s Caesars Virginia casino resort, a $750 million project, is anticipated to open by the end of this year.

Richmond voters defeated a casino referendum twice in 2021 and 2023, and in November, Petersburg voters will weigh in on a referendum that would allow the city to build a casino with developer The Cordish Cos. and Bruce Smith Enterprise, a Virginia Beach-based development firm led by Norfolk native and Pro Football Hall of Famer Bruce Smith.