Officials from the City of Richmond, Virginia, announced Wednesday the race to build a casino resort moved to the next phase after three of the submitted proposals were no longer considered.
The City’s Evaluation Panel selected Bally’s Richmond Casino Resort, Live! Casino & Hotel Richmond and One Casino+Resort to advance to the next stage, while proposals from Wind Creek Hospitality, Golden Nugget, and the Pamunkey Indian Tribe were no longer considered due to concerns related to site control, lack of organizational experience, and feasibility of financial projections.
“The top ranked proposals stood out because the operators provided strong proposals with detailed financial and operational analyses to support their vision for a resort casino in Richmond.”
Statement, City of Richmond
The Finalists
Bally’s Richmond Casino Resort, a $650 million proposal to build casino resort over 1.6 million square feet on a 61-acre parcel located on the west side of Richmond, consisting of a 4-star hotel, dining amenities, pool and spa, live entertainment area, and casino with a sportsbook, is the only project featuring an upfront payment to the City of $100 million, Bally’s outlined in their official release related to the news.
“We are excited and honored to have been selected as a finalist and have the continued opportunity to partner with the City of Richmond, its residents and businesses on this campaign.”
George Papanier, President and CEO, Bally’s Corporation
The second finalist, Live! Casino & Hotel Richmond, a $600+ million destination casino resort located at the intersection of Arthur Ashe Blvd and West Leigh Street in the City’s Scotts Addition area, includes a luxury hotel with 300 rooms and 30 suites, 18 restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues, spa and fitness, live entertainment venue and 40,000 square feet of event space, and was put forward by an affiliate of The Cordish Companies.
The third finalist, One Casino + Resort, a $517 million proposal to develop a world-class entertainment, dining, and gaming destination located in the city’s south side off of I-95, submitted by Urban One Inc. includes a 150-room luxury hotel, 12 bars & restaurants, casino, sportsbook, theater and event space. The company labeled the project as the only black-owned casino in the country.
Each one of the remaining contenders will have a virtual meeting with the Evaluation Panel as part of the next stage during next week.
The Disappointed
Wind Creek Hospitality and the Pamunkey Indian Tribe also issued statements regarding the announcement, expressing their disappointment that their respective projects would no longer be considered.
“We strongly believe that Wind Creek sets itself apart from other operators by not only building casino resorts, but by building up the communities our properties are located within. We wish the best of luck to the other operators and to the City of Richmond as they continue through the selection process.”
Wind Creek Hospitality
The Pamunkey went further by expressing serious doubts that the selection process had a pre-determined outcome.
“The timing of the decision, which comes before the public comment period has even concluded, seriously undermines confidence in the selection process and suggests a pre-determined outcome has been reached.”
Chief Robert Gray, Pamunkey Indian Tribe