The Pamunkey Indian Tribe released new renderings of its planned casino resort alongside Norfolk’s Harbor Park.
Previous renderings, released nearly 21/2 years ago before a whirlwind of state debate and a surge of potential competitors, included a soaring tower.
The new images include a lower-slung glass-and-metal structure with a rooftop pool offering a view of Norfolk Tides games, attached to an eight-story hotel and a marina on the banks of the Elizabeth River.
A press release said the initial phase of the construction is expected to be completed in 2023, and the facility will include not only the casino and attached hotel, but a spa, sports bar and grill, steakhouse, rooftop event space and multi-purpose event center.
“I’m confident that this project will exceed the expectations of everyone,” said Robert Gray, chief of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, said in the release. “We are living up to every promise we made and are determined to make this a project of which Norfolk can be proud.”
The tribe was federally recognized in 2015, making it the only one in Virginia with the ability to open casinos on tribal land, in a state where they were still illegal.
At the end of 2018, the tribe and Tennessee billionaire Jon Yarborugh announced they were seeking to build a casino on the banks of the Elizabeth River in Norfolk.
The group released renderings of a soaring tower alongside Harbor Park — a planned $700 million casino.
That announcement whipped up a whirlwind in the General Assembly, prompting state lawmakers to reconsider the state’s casino ban. Eventually, legislators worked out a deal to license casinos in five Virginia cities — Bristol, Danville, Richmond, Portsmouth and Norfolk — pending the results of a local referendum.
The casino was approved by Norfolk voters nearly 2 to 1 last November, despite two separate petition drives seeking to beat back the agreement with the city and an opposition movement targeting the referendum. (Voters in Bristol, Danville and Portsmouth also approved casinos. The issue is scheduled to be on the ballot in Richmond this fall.)
The rise of potential competition ultimately shrank the expected size of the Pamunkey tribe’s Norfolk casino — but gave them the option to also build one in Richmond.
Now, the tribe is saying the Norfolk casino will be a $500 million resort and casino with a 300-plus room hotel and attached parking deck for about 2,000 cars. Though smaller than advertised, that’s still considerably larger than city and state projections expected at the end of 2019.
Ryan Murphy, 757-739-8582, ryan.murphy@pilotonline.com
