This page contains archived news updates for Norfolk Casino Resort from 2024. These items were originally posted on the casino's profile page and have been preserved here as part of the 500 Nations legacy news archive. Major stories from this year may also appear as standalone articles in the main News section.
Norfolk Casino | Construction Starts in January 2025
December 22, 2024
There have been no construction activities at the Norfolk Casino site since the groundbreaking ceremony was held Oct. 30th. Furthermore, there has been no announcement about the selection of a building contractor for the project. What does this mean? Is the Norfolk casino project still on schedule to open before the Nov. 2025 deadline?
On Tuesday a casino official confirmed the project is "on-schedule" and is waiting for state approval from the Lottery Board and final approval of site plan by the City of Norfolk.
"We've submitted all of our licensing material with Virginia gaming regulators. So, that has been submitted, and we are now working with the city of Norfolk to finalize our site plan."
- David Strow, Boyd Gaming VP of Corp. Communications
Strow said the company is forming its construction team and will announce a general contractor in January. At that time the first site preparation work is expected to start. In the meantime, Boyd Gaming is seeking vendor bids for transportation, food and beverage services.
Norfolk casino is a partnership between the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and Boyd Gaming Corporation.
In comments made after the Norfolk casino groundbreaking ceremony yesterday, Boyd Gaming said it is committed to spending $750 million to build the new casino, hotel and entertainment complex on the Elizabeth River. This is a 50% increase in investment over the previous commitment of $750 million. Boyd Gaming recently joined the Pamunkey Tribe as a new partner in the Norfolk casino project and owns an 80% share.
The casino project is facing a November 2025 deadline established by the 2020 ballot referendum that requires the Norfolk casino to be licensed and operational before that date. The building plans must still be finalized and submitted to the city. Then the building permits must be issued before construction can begin.
"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."
- Keith Smith, Pres. & CEO Boyd Gaming
The Norfolk casino plan is to open a temporary casino before the Nov. 2025 deadline, and then continue with construction with a permanent casino which will open in September 2027.
Boyd Gaming plans to break ground on the temporary casino by the end of this year.
Finally! The groundbreaking for the Norfolk casino was held today! The Pamunkey Indian Tribe and their new partner, Boyd Gaming, are planning to introduce casino gaming to Norfolk within 12 months.
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Norfolk hosts groundbreaking ceremony for casino - Courtesy of WAVY TV 10, Oct 30, 2024. Available from YouTube
The ceremony was held in the parking lot at the building site between Norfolk's Amtrak station and Harbor Park. The public was not invited. The event was attended by tribal leaders, Boyd Gaming executives, and Norfolk city officials. Short speeches were delivered by Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander, Pamunkey Indian Tribe Chief Robert Gray, and Boyd Gaming CEO Keith Smith.
"We feel very comfortable and we're just excited to be able to bring the project to fruition for the city and the Commonwealth and the Tribe."
- Chief Robert Gray, Pamunkey Indian Tribe
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. Since then, the clock has been ticking (and ticking) away. Four years of delays have brought the window for construction down to just the next 12 months to meet the mandatory opening deadline. The law says the Norfolk casino must be licensed and operational no later than Nov. 5, 2025.
The casino development plan is to open a transitional casino in Oct. 2025 to secure the gaming license and to operate during construction of the permanent casino. Details of the temporary facility have not been announced. The permanent casino is targeted to open in Aug. 2027 and will include 1,500 slot machines, 50 table games, eight restaurants, and a five-story hotel with 200 rooms.
Norfolk casino will celebrate groundbreaking on Oct. 30
October 16, 2024
Yesterday, the Pamunkey Tribe and its new partner, Boyd Gaming, announced the groundbreaking date for the Norfolk casino will be Wednesday, October 30 at 11 AM. The location for the event will be the future casino site next to Harbor Park at 200 Park Avenue.
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Norfolk casino groundbreaking set for October 30 - Courtesy of WAVY TV 10, Oct 15, 2024. Available from YouTube
After four years of delays, the Norfolk casino project has turned around quickly since getting a new partner and a new plan. In three short weeks the new casino plan was approved by the Norfolk Architectural Review Board, the Planning Commission, and the City Council.
The groundbreaking ceremony will be a private event. Attendees will include Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander, Pamunkey Chief Robert Gray, and Boyd Gaming CEO Keith Smith.
Further details about the event were not included in the press release.
The City Council of Norfolk, Virginia met tonight and granted final approval for construction of the Norfolk Casino. The council voted 7-1 to approve the design of a $750 million casino and hotel to be built along the Elizabeth River at 200 Park Avenue.
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[ NO ADS ] Norfolk green lights new casino plans, allowing construction to begin - Courtesy of WAVY TV 10, Oct 8, 2024. Available from YouTube
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.
Norfolk's Planning Commission has approved the Norfolk casino development plan as proposed by the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and its new partner, Boyd Gaming. 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. The next city council meeting is scheduled for Oct. 8th.
If the city council gives final approval, construction of the $750 million Norfolk casino will begin in January 2025 with a target completion date of September 2027. Construction of the transitional Norfolk casino will begin in February 2025 with a target completion date in mid-October 2025.
Norfolk Casino moves forward with Architectural Review Board approval
September 25, 2024
The latest plans for building the Norfolk casino project were approved by the Architectural Review Board on Monday by a 6-1 vote. The board said there are still concerns that some of the design details remain undefined; and therefore, the approval comes with conditions.
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[ NO ADS ] Norfolk casino moves forward amid design concerns - Courtesy of WAVY TV 10, Sep 23, 2024. Available from YouTube
Board member Gregory Rutledge said this: "It's going to be an icon on the waterfront, it's going to be a symbol on the intercoastal waterway. These buildings [have] got to be right, it's got to look right, it's got to stand up for the test of time, so these details matter."
The board wants more specific details about the building concepts and the types of materials to be used. These factors will determine how the sun reflects off the building.
The Cape Henry Audubon Society is concerned that birds may be harmed by the casino design. Audubon representative Pat Scanlon told the board that birds could "become exhausted from the light and swirling and going nowhere then they start crashing into buildings."
"If we were to approve this at this level and never see it again, we'd have no idea that the finished project would look like what we saw today," Rutledge said. "We have several specific details that we want them to come back and show us how they're developing the exterior design of the building, but also come back and what we call a design development phase of the project. Not quite 100% design, but it's further along than what we saw today."
- Gregory Rutledge, Architectural Review Board
The Norfolk Casino project plans will next be reviewed for approval by the Norfolk City Planning Commission.
Additional information about the new Norfolk Casino agreement with the City of Norfolk was disclosed yesterday. The topics include Amtrack support, the city land sale for the casino, and the smoking policy inside the casino
Casino Land The Norfolk casino will purchase 8 acres of the city-owned land adjacent to Harbor Park. The purchase price will be $10 million. The size of the casino site was reduced from an original 13.4 acres to allow construction of a 17-foot-high seawall along the riverbank.
Amtrack Parking Amtrack riders currently park on the city land that will become the building site for the casino. These riders will continue to park free in that area during construction and after the casino opens. A shuttle service will transport Amtrack riders from a temporary parking lot during construction. When the 1,300-space parking garage is completed, there will be 103 spaces reserved for Amtrak customers.
Smoking Areas Smoking will be allowed inside a designated area of the gaming area of the Norfolk casino. Blueprints show "best-in-class ventilation systems" to protect nonsmoking areas.
"Norfolk casino project WILL be built," Pamunkey Chief
September 13, 2024
Pamunkey Indian Tribe Chief Robert Gray told news media Wednesday he has "absolute confidence" the long-delayed Norfolk casino will finally be built.
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.
"We feel very comfortable and we're just excited to be able to bring the project to fruition for the city and the Commonwealth and the Tribe."
- Robert Gray, Pamunkey Chief
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Casino plans in Norfolk move forward - Courtesy of WAVY TV 10, Sep 11, 2024. Available from YouTube
Boyd Gaming brings a major lift to saving the failing Norfolk casino project. Chief Gray said, "We always knew we were going to need a professional management team and that's what we did. We went searching out, talked to several, but extremely impressed with Boyd's experience."
Construction will start at the start of 2025 pending approvals of the architectural plans and the building permits.
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.
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Norfolk bets on new partner to bring casino to life - Courtesy of WAVY TV 10, Sep 10, 2024. Available from YouTube
Here are the major issues approved last night by the Norfolk City Council:
PARTNERSHIP The City Council approved Boyd Gaming as a new partner with the Pamunkey Tribe. Boyd will replace Jon Yarbrough, an original investor, and will buy out Yarbrough's interest in Golden Eagle Consulting II, LLC, the operating entity for the Norfolk casino.
CASINO SITE The council update the option to sell 6 acres of city-owned land for the casino site near the Elizabeth River and Harbor Park. The site was originally 13.4 acres; however, the land was reduced to 6 acres to accomodate for construction of a seawall. The City Manager is now authorized to execute the development agreement and site plan agreements.
TRANSITIONAL CASINO The construction of the Norfolk casino will be a "single-phase project" which includes a temporary, or transitional, casino. Construction of the permanent casino will start in mid-January 2025. Construction of the temporary casino will follow the next month. The temporary casino will be completed by October 2025 and open before the November deadline. The permanent casino will be completed in August 2025 and open in the next month.
HOTEL CHANGES The council accepted the plan to downsize the size of the hotel from 300 rooms to 200 rooms.
NAME CHANGE The casino no longer has an official name. The Headwaters name and brand are officially gone. A temporary nickname is "Project Mermaid."
Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander was excited about the City Council's vote. He said "I am excited to recognize this significant milestone in our journey to bring a world-class casino and hotel resort to the Harbor Park Entertainment District."
The Norfolk City Council will meet tomorrow evening to decide whether to accept the latest casino plan from the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and Boyd Gaming Corp. The city council's decision includes selling 6 acres of city land next to Harbor Park to the casino partners for the casino site.
The latest casino plan seeks to resolve differences between the tribe and the city on pre-requirement issues that have caused long delays in starting construction. Here are the major changes introduced in the new casino plan:
Ownership Change The 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.
Casino Name The casino will no longer be named the HeadWaters Resort & Casino. It is now the Norfolk Casino. However, that name seems generic and may be temporary pending further development of the plan.
Transitional Casino The city has opposed building a temporary casino before building a permanent None. The latest plan calls for a temporary casino to open within a year to meet the Nov. 5, 2025 deadline to get a casino license. Construction of the permanent casino will follow in a second phase which is targeted for completion in late 2027.
Hotel Change The 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.
Opening Dates The temporary casino will open next year before Nov. 5 deadline. The permanent Norfolk casino and hotel will open in September 2027.
Next Step The Norfolk City Council will meet tomorrow night at 6 pm to decide the next steps in the future of the Norfolk Casino.
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.
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Norfolk casino has new development partner - Courtesy of WAVY TV 10, Sep 3, 2024. Available from YouTube
Boyd Gaming is seeking to buy out Golden Eagle's interest in the Norfolk casino to become the casino's only partner with the Pamunkey Indian Tribe.
The Boyd and the Pamunkey issued this short statement:
"Boyd Gaming has started the process required to help the Tribe bring its vision to fruition, in a way that will deliver meaningful benefits for the Tribe, the city of Norfolk and the Commonwealth of Virginia."
- Boyd Gaming, Pamunkey Tribe
The original plan by the Pamunkey Indian Tribe to build the HeadWaters Resort & Casino on the Elizabeth River next to Harbor Park was approved by Norfolk voters in 2020. Since then, there has been little progress towards city approval for construction. If a casino license is not approved by the deadline date of Nov. 5, 2025, the Norfolk casino project will return to the people for a new vote.
To meet the deadline, Boyd is proposing building a "transitional" casino with construction beginning next February. That casino would be operational before the Nov. 2025 deadline.
Further details are expected to be released next week when the Norfolk City Council meets.
Norfolk Casino no longer named 'Headwaters Resort & Casino'
August 20, 2024
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.
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Is 'Headwaters' name out for Norfolk casino? - Courtesy of WAVY TV 10, Aug 19, 2024. Available from YouTube
During the meeting, HKS architectural firm presented new design details and renderings for the long-delayed casino project planned at the Elizabeth River next to Harbor Park. No where in the presentation was the name "HeadWaters Resort & Casino". That name was replaced on every slide and casino rendering with the name "Norfolk Casino". {See renderings}.
Board member Greg Rutledge asked if the HeadWaters name was dropped, and an architectural representative said "it may be". The name is being reevaluated by the Pamunkey Indian Tribe.
The Architectural Review Board has scheduled a follow-up meeting with the tribe and the design company for the first week of September.
Norfolk's Architectural Review Board (ARB) met today to review revised plans for building the HeadWaters Resort & Casino on city-owned land adjacent to Harbor Park. The HKS architectural firm presented the board with design changes and with drawings for the project. (See new renderings.)
There were two major changes from the plans:
Single Construction Phase The original plan to build the HeadWaters Resort & Casino had two phases. The first phase would build the casino and parking. The second phase would build the hotel. The plan has been revised and will now build the entire project in one phase.
Downsized Hotel The original plan for a hotel has been downsized from 300 to 200 rooms. To reduce costs, the rooftop pool will be replaced with an outdoor pool and bar. The hotel will now be five stories with 200 rooms, a spa and fitness center. The parking garage has also been downsized from 1,200 spaces to 935 spaces.
If the Norfolk Architectural Review Board approves the new casino plans, they will be sent to the Norfolk City Council for review. The plans must be approved by the City Council before the land can be sold to the casino and construction crews can break ground on the $750 million casino resort.
Norfolk Casino Project Releases New Design Renderings
August 16, 2024
The Norfolk casino project has returned from its near-dead and almost-forgotten self with a new release of artist renderings to be presented to the Norfolk Architectural Review Board on Monday.
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Updated renderings again released for Norfolk casino - Courtesy of WAVY TV 10, Aug 15, 2024. Available from YouTube
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.
Since that time the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and its financial backer Golden Eagle Consulting LLC have been revising the casino project, which had been presented to the city last December, to satisfy the requirements of the Architectural Review Board.
The Norfolk casino plan must pass the Architectural Review Board and be approved by the Norfolk City Council before the city will sell the land for the casino and hotel at the Elizabeth River site next to Harbor Park.
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.
The Norfolk casino project began five years ago when the Pamunkey Indian Tribe proposed building a $750 million commercial casino and hotel on a on 13.4- acres of city land along the Elizabeth River next to Harbor Park.
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.
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 $750M casino and hotel next to Harbor Park, and nothing has happened. Plans are not finalized, and construction has not started.
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City officials on the casino's future - Courtesy of 13News Now, Apr 4, 2024. Available from YouTube
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.
Norfolk City Attorney Bernard Pishko said this week:
"We're working with the casino developer and will have a casino with them, and if they don't perform, we will have somebody take their place.
"We're starting to get ready in the event that they run out of time."
- Bernard Pishko, Norfolk City Attorney
Pishko said Norfolk officials are worried about the lack of progress with the casino, and are considering contingency plans. So far there have been no talks with other ccasino developers.
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Norfolk's HeadWaters Casino Delayed Again
January 27, 2024
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. A rescheduled meeting date was not set.
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Meeting on Norfolk casino future postponed again - Courtesy of WAVY TV 10, Jan 22, 2024. Available from YouTube
The design delay results partially from the Coastal Storm Risk Management Project which will protect Norfolk for storm damage and rising sea levels. The project requires a 17-foot-high floodwall be built along eight miles of the north shore of the Elizabeth River. This has created design changes for the casino. The marina plan has been scrapped, the casino has been repositioned, and the landscaping has been redesigned.
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Norfolk's HeadWaters Casino Delays Final Design
January 11, 2024
In a scheduled meeting Monday with the Norfolk Architectural Review Board, the developers of the HeadWaters Resort & Casino project asked for a delay in presenting their final construction design for review. The Board agreed to reschedule the presentation into its January 22 meeting.
Approval of the final plans by the Architectural Review Board is a prerequisite for construction. The City of Norfolk is selling 13.5 acres of waterfront property to the Pamunkey Indian Tribe as for the building site of the HeadWaters Resort & Casino.
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.
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