The Petersburg City Council voted unanimously to choose the Cordish Companies as the developer of the city’s casino and entertainment destination should residents approve casino gambling at the voting booths this fall.
Let’s take a closer look at the details and analyze how this new casino may impact the top-rated sportsbooks’ landscape.
Cordish Chosen Again
In 2022, Petersburg chose Cordish as its developer to build a resort and casino but the city was ultimately not selected as one of five casino locations in the state. Yet, last month Virginia State Senator Lashrecse Aird’s SB 628 was signed into law, which allowed for Richmond to be removed and replaced with Petersburg as the destination for the state’s fifth casino.
The Cordish Companies, in tandem with NFL Hall of Famer Bruce Smith, won the day yet again in a closed-door city council meeting on April 24th. Among the other bidders were Bally’s Corp., Rush Street Gaming, The Warrenton Group and Penn Entertainment.
However, Cordish had scored highest in aggregating the three key metrics proposed by the city’s financial advisor, Davenport & Co., which were the following:
- Financial stability and likelihood of funding.
- Overall development and investment in Petersburg.
- Guaranteed upfront and on-time payments benefitting Petersburg’s infrastructure during operations.
Development Train
Petersburg Mayor Sam Parham issued a statement after the city council made the decision:
“The City of Petersburg is thrilled to have selected Bruce Smith Enterprise and The Cordish Companies as development partners after a thorough RFP process and extensive review by outside consultants. An important part of our evaluation was to identify a development team with a proven track record in developing and operating mixed-use and casino properties, a long history of revitalizing cities across the country, and strong community engagement practices.
“Bruce Smith and Cordish’s experience, comprehensive project master plan and visionary approach, ideal site location, robust financial strength, and commitment to swift market entry make them the clear and unanimous choice of both our consultants and City Council. The City has worked very hard to get to this point, and we believe that it is imperative to continue moving this project forward as expeditiously as possible so that we can meet the deadline to get this in front of our citizens for a referendum vote this November.”
Project Details
The proposed casino would be called Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia, and is slated to be built in southern Petersburg at the intersection of Interstate 95 and Wagner Road. The Cordish Companies and Bruce Smith Enterprise would be equal partners on the project but nothing can be done without Petersburg voters approving of a casino this fall.
In a Cordish Companies news release, Bruce Smith, a Virginia resident, said, “I have spent significant time in Petersburg talking with students and the community at large. I’ve had the opportunity to hear first-hand their stories of hardship, and I understand the struggle and the enormous challenges they face.
“Working as a developer in the state for over 20 years, I’m confident that Bruce Smith Enterprise and The Cordish Cos. are the right partners for this undertaking because we share the same vision and understand the needs of the City of Petersburg and its citizens.”
The $1.4 billion Live! Gaming & Entertainment district would include the following features and amenities:
- A casino featuring 1600 slots and 46 live table games.
- 200-room hotel including 20 suites.
- A 3,000-seat entertainment venue.
- Eight restaurants.
- Fitness center and resort pool.
- 35,000 square feet of meeting and convention space.
The project will see the creation of 6000 construction jobs and 1500 full-time casino positions. Once completed, the casino/entertainment district is projected to have a $2.8 billion economic impact on the region and will trigger $504 million in revenue for the state including $240 million for Petersburg.
