\nThe Richmond story is similar to a lot of other places. There’s a central city with a high degree of poverty and racial minorities, surrounded by more affluent, whiter suburbs,” explained Thad Williamson, an associate professor of leadership studies at the University of Richmond.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
City officials have long been trying to remedy that reality. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney believes a casino could be the economic spark the capital needs. But he says he’s learned from the disastrous Navy Hill downtown project.<\/p>\n
Stoney announced in late 2017 “the largest economic development project in the city’s history.” The more than $1 billion vision to transform downtown with new apartments, offices, retail shops, restaurants, and a sports stadium was dead less than two years later.<\/p>\n
Critics said the economic development process was rushed and flawed.<\/p>\n
“The lesson learned from that exercise [Navy Hill] was that community engagement has to be at the center of what we do when it comes to economic development,” Stoney told the Richmond Times-Dispatch <\/i>this week. “We want economic development — which to me is economic justice — for all of our residents.”<\/strong><\/p>\n “This is about growth, not just for the city, but growth as an administration and government,” the mayor added. “And I believe that we have to take lessons from our last opportunity.”<\/p>\n
No Rush on Gaming<\/b><\/h2>\n Richmond was one of five Virginia cities that met various economic criteria<\/a> in the state’s commercial gaming law signed this year by Gov. Ralph Northam (D). The gaming bill allows citizens in struggling cities to decide whether to bring a casino to their towns to spur economic growth. Bristol, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Danville all passed ballot referendums last month authorizing a casino each.<\/p>\n\n
Richmond, however, opted to delay its ballot amendment by a year. The question will go before voters in November of 2021. If the casino issue garners a simple majority, the capital city will be able to proceed with a gaming development.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Stoney expects the Richmond City Council to review proposals from the three interested parties and pick a preferred gaming partner in February.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Richmond will hold a ballot referendum next November asking local voters if they wish to approve a single casino resort. Three companies have informed the city that they are interested in developing a casino resort in the Virginia capital. One is the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, which is building a $500 million casino resort in Norfolk […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":159232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,18943],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Three Companies Vying for Richmond Casino in Virginia Capital<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n