NORFOLK, Va. — Plans seem to be moving forward for a new casino in Hampton Roads.
The Pamunkey Indian Tribe and its development team submitted a preliminary site plan for HeadWaters Resort and Casino to the city on Oct. 20, following several months of meetings and delays between the tribe and the city.
The 90,000-square-foot facility would include 300 rooms, a hotel, a pool and an entertainment venue.
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A spokesperson for the tribe says the preliminary site plan now includes an overall layout of the resort and casino on the site, offsite roadway improvements, utility connections, site elevations, rough grading and drainage.
The submittal also included a project narrative, describing the complete development and outlining two stages of construction. While the tribe plans to build the resort and casino in two consecutive phases, the application process will be done once for the entire project, according to the spokesperson.
The submittal of the preliminary plan initiates the process to obtain the final site plan approval necessary to start construction on the resort and casino.
The tribe plans to file an application for final site plan approval and an application for a Development Certificate before Dec. 11, according to the spokesperson for the tribe.
Once those applications are in prior to Dec. 11, the tribe says it will enable the applications to be considered by the Norfolk Architectural Review Board in Jan. 2024 and considered by the Planning Commission later that month, then followed by Norfolk City Council hearing the applications in Feb. 2024.
The tribe says along with the processing of the applications, they will work with their development team and the city to amend the existing agreements and implement other measures to start construction as soon as possible after the applications are approved and permits granted.
"Our team has been meeting routinely with City staff to review the Project plans and discuss the development timeline," said Robert Gray, Chief of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe. "We want to get this project up and running as soon as possible to start generating revenue for our Tribe, for the other recognized Virginia tribes that will benefit from this project, and for the City of Norfolk, its citizens and the Commonwealth of Virginia."
It would be the second casino to open in Hampton Roads after Rivers Casino Portsmouth opened in January 2023.
"This region certainly is big enough to support two casinos," said HeadWaters spokesperson Jay Smith. "I think what will set us apart is what we're trying to do is make sure that we offer a different product. We want this to be a destination Resort Casino, with a full-service hotel restaurant, that's going to bring business in not just from the region but from all up and down the East Coast. And I think that's going to be a differentiator between us."
However, Bob McNab said the competitive environment could make it tricky for a new casino in Norfolk to get off the ground, especially if voters in Richmond approve a new casino there.
"It essentially occupies a blocking position," McNab said. "People on the Peninsula will have a choice. 'Do I cross the bridge and tunnel and go to the casinos in Portsmouth and Norfolk, or do I just head by 64 to a brand new casino on the southside of Richmond?'"
The Norfolk project is expected to create thousands of jobs and bring in millions of dollars in revenue to the city and its surrounding businesses.
McNab said, that in order for that to happen, the casino would need to be a destination for tourists.
"What the research tends to suggest is that if you're not a destination location for a casino, most of your customers are local, they're not tourists. And it's great that if you can get tourists to come in and spend money, but that's the argument for the Oceanfront in Virginia Beach and hotels and convention centers, that you bring these people in, they spend their money and they leave the region so that you get net gains," McNab said. "If you're merely attracting people who live here, then you are just taking money out of one business and putting it in another business. The city's gain because Portsmouth and Norfolk would be taking money away from Virginia Beach and Chesapeake and Hampton, Newport News businesses and putting it into their casinos and getting the gains in gaming revenue. But again, coming out to the regional level, or the state level, the economic impact at casinos is fairly small."
Smith told Greene the casino would be a destination for everyone.
"When viewed from our, hotel rooms of the Elizabeth River, or the baseball stadium, I think this is going to be a premier destination and be the best casino that Virginia has," Smith said.
Smith said called the casino a 'game-changer' for the Pamunkey tribe.
"It's one of the reasons why they are actively and have been working so hard to make this project happen," Smith said. "The other recognized tribes in Virginia are also going to see the benefit from this project."
Stay with News 3 for updates.
