After City Approval, Norfolk Casino Should Clear Next Steps Within ‘Several Months’

Boyd Gaming is already looking ahead to the next steps in building its new casino with the Pamunkey Indian Tribe in Norfolk, Virginia, after the Norfolk City Council gave the project its green light in a 7-1 vote Tuesday.

David Strow, vice president of corporate communications for Boyd Gaming, told Casino Reports that the company’s next agenda items are reviews from the Architectural Review Board, the Planning Commission, and the Virginia Lottery. And the Norfolk City Council still needs to issue a development certificate for the project.

How long could these next steps take?

“We don’t have a specific timeline, and I don’t want to speak for the city and state on this, but we believe it will take several months,” Strow said.

That projection would fall in line with Boyd Gaming’s construction goals, which Strow said are to have its temporary facility open by November 2025 — 14 months from now — and its permanent casino open in 2027.

“We will keep everyone posted as we move through this process,” Strow said.

What the next steps entail

The Norfolk Architectural Review Board is responsible for making sure any new construction, alteration, or demolition in the city is reasonable and doesn’t add too much undue burden (for visuals or infrastructure) to the surrounding area. It awards a Certificate of Appropriateness if it deems a project is good to go.

An application to the ARB must consist of elements such as:

• Site plans and floor plans, including how tall any buildings will be
• Landscape plans
• Proposed signs and lighting
• Samples of colors and materials that will be used
• Initial engineering plans for streets, paths, and parking lots

From submitting the application to getting approval, the whole process could take up to six weeks. The ARB’s next three meetings are Sept. 23, Oct. 7, and Oct. 21.

The Planning Commission oversees land use and zoning issues in Norfolk. It has public hearings on Sept. 26, Oct. 24, and Nov. 21.

As for the Virginia Lottery, that’s who’s responsible for issuing the necessary permits and licenses for Boyd Gaming and the Pamunkey Indian Tribe to jointly operate the new Norfolk casino. They will need to be approved for a facility operator’s license.

1,500 slot machines and 3,700 jobs

According to a 16-page pitchbook provided to Casino Reports by the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, the Norfolk casino will have 1,500 slot machines and 50 table games, as well as eight restaurants and bars, 200 hotel rooms, and more than 1,000 parking spaces.

In terms of size, the casino resort will have a 45,000-square-foot amenity deck, 13,000 square feet of meeting space, and 4,000 square feet of gym and spa space.

Per the pitchbook, here’s how Boyd Gaming and the Pamunkey Indian Tribe claim the casino construction and operation will benefit the local economy:

• During construction: a total of $510 million in local impact with $173 million in salaries and wages and 2,850 jobs created
• During operation: a total of $2.9 billion in local impact over the first 10 years (2027-37) with $583 million in salaries and wages and 850 jobs

Pamunkey Indian Tribe spokesperson Jay Smith directed Casino Reports to a joint press release from the tribe and Boyd Gaming for tribal reaction.

“Together, [our tribe and Boyd Gaming] will deliver on our Tribe’s promise to develop an amazing casino and resort that will attract tourists to Norfolk, provide local residents with good-paying jobs, and generate significant economic benefits for both Norfolk and the entire Commonwealth of Virginia,” said Pamunkey Indian Tribe Chief Robert Gray in the press release.

This process began in 2020

Originally, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe was partnered with Tennessee investor Jon Yarbrough to build the casino — which was to be called HeadWaters Casino & Resort. However, just about a week ago, it was unveiled that Boyd Gaming was stepping in. It took majority ownership of the tribe’s development partner, Golden Eagle Consulting.

Norfolk voters approved the Yarbrough/Pamunkey casino plans via a referendum in 2020, but various factors — mainly disagreements between developers and the city over casino design and construction plans — have kept the project on the Elizabeth River from breaking ground.

Meanwhile, casinos in the other three cities that approved casinos in 2020 referendums (Portsmouth, Danville, and Bristol) have all opened.

There have been so many delays, in fact, that there is a state-mandated deadline for a casino to be built by November 2025. Thus the projected open date for Norfolk’s temporary casino, which will not be called HeadWaters and doesn’t yet have a name.

Now, the dominoes are finally falling. 

Construction on the temporary casino is set to begin in February 2025. Construction on the permanent casino is set to begin one month earlier, in January 2025.

“The greater Norfolk area is one of the largest underserved gaming markets in the mid-Atlantic region, and represents a compelling opportunity to further expand and diversify our Company’s nationwide presence,” Boyd Gaming President and CEO Keith Smith said in the release. “We appreciate the Norfolk City Council’s support and confidence in our development plans, and we look forward to partnering with the City and the Tribe as we continue the process of developing a transformational gaming entertainment experience on the Norfolk waterfront.”