NORFOLK, Va. — In a project more than four years in the making, the Norfolk Casino is one step closer to actually becoming a reality.
On Tuesday, Norfolk City Council approved an updated agreement with the Pamunkey Indian Tribe about the purchase and development of the casino on a site near Harbor Park.
One day later, the two new partners sat down with 13News Now in a united front to discuss their shared vision for the future.
"This is not just a building we are placing here," said Uri Clinton, Executive Vice President of Boyd Gaming. "This is a shared effort to bring something special to this region, that we want to draw people in, and place it on the Amtrack, and take full advantage of it."
Tuesday's resolution certified Golden Eagle Consulting II, LLC as Norfolk’s preferred gaming operator for a casino in the city. Golden Eagle is an entity owned by the Pamunkey Indian Tribal Gaming Authority, which the tribe plans to partner with Boyd Gaming Corporation to build the long-delayed casino.
Boyd Gaming said Golden Eagle will "develop a single-phase project on the historic Norfolk waterfront that will include a 200-room hotel, eight food and beverage outlets, and a casino featuring 1,500 slots and 50 table games."
In the meantime, construction will soon begin to create a temporary casino that will be built right on Harbor Park. Little is known about the temporary structure beyond that it will offer some slot machine games.
"This facility is just simply there because of the statutory requirement, but it is not going to be part of the world-class facility that we are going to open up," said Clinton.
Another change coming to the facility is the size of the casino's footprint. In 2020, the original plan allowed for developers to construct the casino on 14 acres of city-owned land.
However, recently filed documents show the land has been cut from 14 to six acres, and this will have an impact on the physical dimensions of the buildings.
"It's because of the seawall," said Robert Gray, Chief of Pamunkey Tribe. "We believe that the city of Norfolk needs it, and it just means that we are going to use every square inch that we can to build this world-class facility."
The casino is expected to generate more than 800 jobs once completed. It's forecasted to have a local economic output of $290 million annually, plus $30 million in tax revenue, according to city staff.
Those looking for more information on jobs or investing can find more information on Boyd Gaming's website.