On Tuesday the voters in Norfolk approved a plan by the Pamunkey Indian Tribe to build a $500M resort & casino on the Elizabeth River waterfront near Harbor Park. The project includes a casino, an entertainment venue, restaurants, and a 200-room hotel with spa and pool. A formal groundbreaking for the HeadWaters Resort & Casino is expected sometime this summer city officials.

Restaurants

New artist renderings of the design were released along with updates on facilities and the timeframe. Harbor Park is Triple-A baseball stadium located adjacent to the future site of the Headwaters casino project, and has been closed since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The stadium contains the Norfolk Boxing Center and the Hits at the Park restaurant. The Pamunkey Tribe is asking the Norfolk City Council for permission to operate a temporary casino at Harbor Park during the two-year construction of the HeadWaters Resort and Casino.

• The Tribe has not released updated information about the temporary casino since the location was changed last year from inside the baseball stadium to the parking lot of the casino.
• To meet the deadline, Boyd is proposing building a “transitional” casino with construction beginning next February.
• Dependent on current state laws, the casino could be allowed to operate slot machines and table games.
• The first agreement was an option for the Pamunkey Tribe to buy 13.4 acres of city property next to Harbor Park for $750,000 per acre ($10+ million total).
• The tribe also said at the time it had not committed to build there and would continue to seek other opportunities including land in Richmond and its vicinity.
• Pishko said Norfolk officials are worried about the lack of progress with the casino, and are considering contingency plans.
• The new plans also no longer call for work to be done on the direct waterfront, with the entire project north of the Elizabeth River Trail.

City Politics

This action follows the approval by the Norfolk Architectural Review Board earlier this week. The Norfolk casino plan will now return to the City Council for a vote on final approval. Boyd replaces former partner Jon Yarbrough, who formed a limited liability company, Golden Eagle Consulting II, with the tribe’s gaming authority in 2020. Yarbrough is no longer affiliated with the casino, having sold his interest in the project to Boyd Gaming, which is now majority owner of Golden Eagle Consulting II. The tribe and Yarbrough first encountered issues when they planned to open a temporary casino, as permitted by the 2020 law, inside Harbor Park while construction on the permanent resort got underway at the adjacent parking lot. After it was determined that a temporary casino could only operate at the same mailing address as the permanent resort, and efforts to change the address of the ballpark caused legal issues, the developers went back to the drawing board.

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Chief Robert Gray of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe highlighted the historic significance of the project, describing it as an endeavor that connects the tribe’s longstanding heritage in the Tidewater region with a future of opportunity for growth. Previous renderings, released nearly 21/2 years ago before a whirlwind of state debate and a surge of potential competitors, included a soaring tower. Smith said the time for changes and new ideas for the property is over. Alexander said he would measure this site plan submission against the original agreement, which has not been amended since 2020.

Gaming

Did the Norfolk casino project just drop its Headwaters Resort & Casino name? It certainly appeared that way during Monday’s meeting of the Norfolk Architectural Review Board meeting and the casino’s design company. A shocking change in the stalled Norfolk casino project may be emerging. The Norfolk City Council will meet on Sept. 10 to vote on replacing the current casino developer, Golden Eagle Consulting, with Boyd Gaming Corp., a multi-billion-dollar Las Vegas casino company. Opening DatesThe temporary casino will open next year before Nov. 5 deadline.

Entertainment Venue

The proposal includes plans for 1,500 slot machines, 50 table games, a 200-room hotel, eight restaurants, and a 1,300-spot parking garage. The resort and casino will sit on six acres of land between Harbor Park and the Amtrak station. Phase one will construct a 90,000 square-foot casino with a 45,000 square-foot gaming floor, 3,000 slot machines, 150 table games, a 4,500 square-foot sports bar and entertainment venue, restaurants, and 1,200-space parking structure.

Norfolk Casino Gets Final Approval

In an unexpected move yesterday, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and their developer partners withdrew a building application from the Norfolk architectural review board. The latest plans for the Headwaters Resort and Casino were to be presented to the review board yesterday as a first step for a building certificate. A second meeting was scheduled for Thursday with the city planning commission. The Norfolk casino project is facing a Nov. 5, 2025 deadline for obtaining a casino license, or starting over to face another voter referendum. The new plan will start construction of the permanent casino on Octber 30, 2024 followed by the start construction on a transitional casino a month later.

Norfolk Casino’s revised timeline outlined by City Manager

The Pamunkey Tribe plan to operate a temporary casino during the two-year construction of the HeadWaters Resort & Casino. However, the initial plan to locate the temporary gaming operation inside the ballpark at Harbor Park has been scrapped due to a street address requirement. The Pamunkey Tribe wants approval to build a temporary casino in 2023. The casino will operate while construction is underway at the HeadWaters Resort & Casino, which is expected to open by November 2024. The Tribe has not released updated information about the temporary casino since the location was changed last year from inside the baseball stadium to the parking lot of the casino. HeadWaters Resort & Casino has dropped its plan to build a temporary casino and will instead proceed with full construction of the HeadWaters Casino.

Pamunkey Tribe withdraws Norfolk casino plan!

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol is scheduled to host its grand opening ceremony Nov. 14, and Danville’s Caesars Virginia casino resort, a $750 million project, is anticipated to open by the end of this year. Following a series of delays, a development agreement was proposed to meet the deadline. It entails putting in a temporary casino that can be operated while the permanent facility is under construction. The Norfolk Architectural Review Board is expected to vote on the plans on July 27.

•Temp casino opens Oct. 2025• Permanent opens Sep. 2027• New casino name is pending

The current iteration of planning lays out two phases for construction. Phase one includes a 90,000 square foot structure with a casino floor, sports bar, lobby and 1,200-space parking structure. The second phase would consist of a hotel, pool, spa, entertainment venue and other resort amenities.

• The “All In Norfolk” campaign to gather voter support for the HeadWaters Resort & Casino is officially underway.
• Previous renderings, released nearly 21/2 years ago before a whirlwind of state debate and a surge of potential competitors, included a soaring tower.
• Groundbreaking for Norfolk’s forthcoming casino is set to take place Oct. 30, according to a news release Tuesday.
• “For those people who were worried about whether Boyd Gaming was going to honor the commitment to the city, not only have we honored it, we’ve exceeded the commitment of previous developers and this will be a $750 million casino resort.”
• Pamunkey Indian Tribe Chief Robert Gray told news media Wednesday he has “absolute confidence” the long-delayed Norfolk casino will finally be built.
• On the east side of the building, there will also be support areas facing a road separating the casino from the Amtrak station.
• The Tribe has been paying $100,000/year for the option to purchase the land.
• The design delay results partially from the Coastal Storm Risk Management Project which will protect Norfolk for storm damage and rising sea levels.
• Construction of the transitional Norfolk casino will begin in February 2025 with a target completion date in mid-October 2025.

The tribe was federally recognized in 2015, making it the only one in Virginia with the ability to open casinos on tribal land, in a state where they were still illegal. The new images include a lower-slung glass-and-metal structure with a rooftop pool offering a view of Norfolk Tides games, attached to an eight-story hotel and a marina on the banks of the Elizabeth River. The new plans also no longer call for work to be done on the direct waterfront, with the entire project north of the Elizabeth River Trail. Previous renderings included a marina on the Elizabeth River, revitalizing several derelict wharfs at the site. It’s unclear whether city leaders will support the latest iteration of the plan, which is designed as one proposal but envisions opening in multiple phases.

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The mailing address matches the same as a video game operator with a state approved license, named B&B Amusement of Illinois. The second agreement was a development agreement to regulate the construction and use of the property in compliance with state and local building codes. The “All In Norfolk” campaign to gather voter support for the HeadWaters Resort & Casino is officially underway. The norfolk casino requires voter approval in the Nov. 3, 2020 election to authorize construction planned for a 13.4-acre site east of the Harbor Park baseball stadium.

It is unknown which city officials will attend and how this might impact the casino project. Officials of HeadWaters Resort & Casino have submitted a preliminary site plan to the City of Norfolk as the next step in the casino application process. The plan was submitted October 20th following months of meetings between the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and city officials. It details the casino site layout, site elevations, drainage, utilities, and road improvements. New details about the casino are expected to be unveiled at the board meeting on Monday. The timeline will also need to be addressed since the casino has a deadline for obtaining a gaming license by November 2025.

Norfolk casino project leaders to break ground at the end of October

The latest proposal for the Headwaters Resort and Casino was released in June. Phase one will build a casino with 3,000 slot machines, 150 table games, sports bar, restaurants, and 1,200-space parking structure. Phase two will add a hotel, pool, spa, and a 2,500-seat entertainment venue.

13News Now learned Boyd Gaming will have the majority share in the casino. The gaming giant will take over the financial and operational aspects of developing the casino, while the Pamunkey Indian Tribe will hold an equity stake of 20%. “It won’t be in the next week or two, but next couple of months,” Smith said. “That’s as close as we can give you.

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The temporary casino for the HeadWaters Resort & Casino would feature limited gaming, a restaurant and a lounge. Further details about gaming and amenities of the temporary gaming facility have not been released to the public as of this date. The proposed location is in the parking lot between the Harbor Park baseball stadium and the Amtrak station. After extended delays over several years, the HeadWaters Resort & Casino development project has filed a formal development certification application with the City of Norfolk. This November 3rd will mark three years since Norfolk voters approved the HeadWaters Resort and Casino project. Further details are expected to be released next week when the Norfolk City Council meets.

• Norfolk city officials have changed the address of Harbor Park to allow for a temporary casino to operate inside the stadium during the two-year construction of the HeadWaters Resort & Casino.
• The temporary facility will not serve a function after the full facility is built.
• In Nov. 2020 the voters of Norfolk, Virginia authorized the Pamunkey Indian Tribe to build a casino on the Elizabeth riverfront next to Harbor Park.
• The Pamunkey Indian Tribe signed a development agreement with Norfolk to build the casino.
• Further details are expected to be released next week when the Norfolk City Council meets.
• If approved by the board, the project application will move to the Planning Commission.
• Did the Norfolk casino project just drop its Headwaters Resort & Casino name?

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• After four years of delays, the Norfolk casino project has turned around quickly since getting a new partner and a new plan.
• The tribe requires the two construction companies, Jordan and Suffolk, to hire a large percentage of local and Black-owned subcontractors and suppliers as a condition of their contracts.
• The Pamunkey Indian Tribe is proposing to build a $750 casino and hotel along the Elizabeth River in the City of Norfolk.
• NORFOLK, Va. — A years-long delay in the City of Norfolk appears to be ending, as casino operators and the Pamunkey Indian Tribe broke ground on the long-awaited Norfolk casino and resort project Wednesday morning.
• These riders will continue to park free in that area during construction and after the casino opens.
• Refined design, architectural details and sparkling chandeliers set the tone for magnificent social events at Fairmont Grand Hotel Kyiv.

The board continues to review the applications for Norfolk, along with Danville and Portsmouth, and the next casino license(s) are expected to be announced soon. A construction site plan will soon be completed and submitted to the Norfolk City Council. If approved by the council, HeadWaters will begin construction of the temporary casino. The Pamunkey Tribe will file an application for final site plan approval along with an application for a Development Certificate by Dec. 11, 2023. The Norfolk Architectural Review Board is expected to review the plans in early January. The Planning Commission would follow with their review in late January.

In 2020, voters in Norfolk and Portsmouth approved casino gaming referendums in their respective cities, with Rivers Casino Portsmouth surpassing the first anniversary mark in 2024 while bringing in $250 million in total gaming revenue. But while Wednesday’s ground breaking signals a major first step for the anticipated casino, Smith acknowledged it will still be months before construction crews are physically breaking ground on the plot of land next to Harbor Park. The tribe wants to build a gaming facility with a hotel, entertainment venue, and spa. The Pamunkey Indian Tribe is proposing to build a $750 casino and hotel along the Elizabeth River in the City of Norfolk. Last night the city council cast a unanimous vote to support the project.

The owners insist on finding a new location before making the property available to the casino. The Pamunkey Indian Tribe is building the $750 million HeadWaters Resort & Casino next to Harbor Park in Norfolk, VA. Details of the Tuesday meeting were not disclosed; however, both sides described the meeting as productive, and both sides restated their commitment the project. If approved, the HeadWaters Resort & Casino would proceed with the groundbreaking and construction in 2024. Hotel ChangeThe new plan will downsize the hotel size from 300 rooms to 200 rooms. The change is based on market analysis and will reduce construction costs.

The Norfolk casino referendum was approved by voters in Nov. 2020 with a five-year deadline for completion. If HeadWaters Resort & Casino does not open by November 2025, another voter referendum is required. To meet the deadline, construction of the HeadWaters Casino must start this Spring. Last April, the long-delayed Norfolk casino project prompted some city officials to question whether it is time to move on with a new casino developer. The chief’s comments came after Tuesday night’s vote by the Norfolk City Council to approve a revised casino plan that added Boyd Gaming Corp. as a partner in the tribe’s casino project.

In a WAVY TV 10 interview with Norfolk’s City Manager Larry “Chip” Filer, Filer said the city is hopeful to see progress in the very near future. When those plans are approved by the Virginia Lottery Board, the city will transfer the 14-acre casino land to the Pamunkey Indian Tribe. The Tribe has been paying $100,000/year for the option to purchase the land. “We submitted our preliminary site plan application, and that really sets in motion the next step which is for our development certificate application and final site plan application to be submitted to the city in early December.” Approval of the final plans by the Architectural Review Board is a prerequisite for construction.

The casino plan will now be reviewed and voted on by the Norfolk City Council. If approved, the Virginia Lottery could grant final approval in its July 20 meeting. The HeadWaters temporary casino will operate inside the Harbor Park Stadium, where the old address has been 150 Park Avenue since the stadium opened in 1993. City officials claim the address change is a “boundary adjustment” common in redevelopment project, and deny it is a specific remedy for the temporary casino. Construction has not started on either the HeadWaters Resort & Casino or its temporary casino, and there is still no construction equipment on the site. According to Jay Smith, spokesman for the casino, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe hopes to reach an agreement with the city on the land sale within the next few weeks, and start construction soon afterwards.

The casino is looking to set up 1,800 to 2,000 gaming machines and 50 table games, but he said fewer machines and tables are likely to be up and running in the beginning. Earlier this month, the Norfolk City Council approved a development certificate for the casino — their last required vote needed — before construction could begin. The milestone comes after years of negotiations, changes and procedural complications for the highly anticipated casino. There have been several versions of the project since 2020, both for full builds as well as temporary casino concepts.

Prior to tonight’s action by the City Council, the Architectural Review Board voted 6 to 1 to the approve the casino construction project. That was followed a few days later with the City Planning Commission granting its approval with a 5 to 1 vote. “For those people who were worried about whether Boyd Gaming was going to honor the commitment to the city, not only have we honored it, we’ve exceeded the commitment of previous developers and this will be a $750 million casino resort.” Norfolk’s Architectural Review Board heard plans for the first of two phases to build the HeadWaters Resort and Casino on Monday evening. Refined design, architectural details and sparkling chandeliers set the tone for magnificent social events at Fairmont Grand Hotel Kyiv. While Wednesday’s ceremony set a symbolic beginning, Smith indicated that actual construction would commence within a few months, estimating a timeline of six to eight months to mobilize crews on site.

Building plans for the Norfolk casino have changed many times since voters approve the project in 2020. The legal deadline for construction to be completed and the casino to be operational is November 2025. Norfolk voters approved the casino in November 2020 setting a five-year deadline for opening. If more time is needed for construction, State lawmakers may be able to extend the deadline, or another referendum may also extend the date. After years of delays the Norfolk City Council took major action last night to move the Norfolk casino project closer to construction. The council voted 7-1 to approve a revised casino plan from the Pamunkey Indian Tribe that adds Boyd Gaming as a new partner.

When the casino opens, HeadWaters will have a two-year deadline to complete construction of its hotel and improve the amenities along the riverfront. The Pamunkey Indian Tribe has submitted a development certificate application to Norfolk’s Architectural Review Board with new construction plans for the HeadWaters Resort and Casino. Construction is expected to start in late 2023 pending approvals by the Architectural Review Board, the Planning Commission and the City Council.

Ownership ChangeThe plan would replace the original development partner of the Pamunkey Tribe, Golden Eagle Consulting II, LLC., with a new partner, Boyd Gaming Corp. Boyd is a multi-billion casino developer and operator headquartered near Las Vegas. The Pamunkey Tribe would retain 20% ownership in the new partnership.

The project will build a 90,000 square-foot casino and peripheral structure that will include a 45,000 square-foot gaming floor, restaurants, sports bar and entertainment venue. The developers of the HeadWaters Resort & Casino project met again with the Norfolk Architectural Review Board last week to review the final building plans for the casino hotel project. And once again the developers for the Pamunkey Indian Tribe requested a delay of the review to allow additional time to complete design changes requested by the board. As delay after delay continues with the Headwaters Resort and Casino project, is it finally time for Norfolk city officials to move on to a new casino developer? It has been over three years since the Pamunkey Indian Tribe signed a development agreement with the City of Norfolk to build a $500M casino and hotel next to Harbor Park, and nothing has happened. Norfolk’s Planning Commission has approved the Norfolk casino development plan as proposed by the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and its new partner, Boyd Gaming.

The sale agreement for 13 acres of city-owned land to the Pamunkey Tribe is contingent upon the tribe getting final casino approval from either the state for a commercial casino or the federal govenment for an Indian gaming casino. When built, the HeadWaters Resort & Casino will be a $750 million casino hotel on the Elizabeth River next to Harbor Park. HeadWaters will feature 3,000 slot machines, 50 table games, and a 200-room hotel.