Pamunkey chief has ‘absolute confidence’ Norfolk casino project will be built
By Brendan Ponton
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NORFOLK, Virginia (WTKR) — Pamunkey Indian Tribe Chief Robert Gray has “absolute confidence” their proposed resort and casino will one day come to the city of Norfolk.
“We feel very comfortable and we’re just excited to be able to bring the project to fruition for the city and the Commonwealth and the Tribe,” Gray told News 3 on Wednesday.
The City Council has now signed off on the Tribe partnering with Boyd Gaming Corporation to build and manage a casino.
Boyd Gaming operates casinos around the country, including in Las Vegas.
“We think it’s a great market, a great opportunity,” said Uri Clinton, Boyd’s General Counsel.
A businessman in Tennessee had been backing the Tribe on their quest to bring a casino to Norfolk, but he is no longer involved.
“We always knew we were going to need a professional management team and that’s what we did. We went searching out, talked to several, but extremely impressed with Boyd’s experience,” said Gray.
The latest project is scaled down compared to the initial idea, but it does call for a casino with 1,500 slot machines, 50 table games, a 200-room hotel, eight restaurants, and a 1,300-spot parking garage.
They’re also ditching the “Headwaters” name and are working to determine a new name for the project.
Over the years, there have been hurdles. Last year, the Tribe submitted a design that called for the project to be built in phases, but the city told them no.
The latest proposal calls for construction to be done in a single phase.
The Tribe also had to adjust the size of the project. It was initially on about 14 acres of land next to Harbor Park, but that’s been reduced to about six due to a flood wall that will be built.
“It’s just complex. It was nothing that we didn’t expect,” said Gray.
The developers also face a November 2025 deadline to start having gaming due to state law.
While they build the actual casino, their plan is to have a non-permanent structure with gaming at the site by that deadline.
“Our transitional casino will be a safe place to come and enjoy yourself, but what it really will be is a precursor to get everyone excited about the permanent facility to come,” said Clinton.
The schedule the developers submitted to the city calls for construction to start early next year and last until 2027, but there are still more steps ahead. Their design plans need to be approved before shovels can hit the dirt.
“There are a lot of requirements to build a casino and there’s a lot of requirements for ground-up construction,” said Clinton. “We’re going through that normal process. We don’t get to cut corners.”
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