Norfolk City Council Approves New Design for Harbor Park Casino

The new casino proposed for Norfolk City has taken a significant step towards development. (Image: Alamy)

The Norfolk City Council voted Tuesday night to approve a development certificate for the Norfolk Casino, allowing the Virginia project to move forward after years of halted progress on the project.

The City Council voted 7-1 in favor of the development certificate, with councilwoman Andria McClellan the lone dissenter for the proposed new casino location. 

Norfolk Casino Moving Forward After Years of Delays

McClellan had concerns over the possibility that developers Boyd Gaming and the Pamunkey Indian Tribe could allow indoor smoking in the facility. 

The Pamunkey tribe has been seeking to develop a Norfolk casino since 2018. In 2020, the tribe successfully received a development certificate from the city while partnered with Tennessee billionaire Jon Yarbrough. 

However, the project seemingly never got off the ground, with a series of unexplained delays pushing the casino closer to deadlines that would invalidate the authorization given to the tribe to build a casino in 2020. There was even a failed effort to hold a referendum on the future of the casino earlier this year.

In September, city documents revealed that Boyd Gaming was taking over as the majority owner in the development, taking over the majority interest in Golden Eagle Consulting, the company Yarbrough had created to develop the casino. Pamunkey Indian Tribe Chief Robert Gray later said that Yarbrough was no longer involved in the project.

“Of course they were struggling to get the project out of the ground,” Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander said last month. 

“Bringing in Boyd – someone with the ability and the wherewithal and experience and more importantly the financial strength to build a world-class casino resort hotel – is exactly what we need.”

Temporary Casino Planned for Late 2025

According to the current plans, Boyd will build a 65,000-square-foot casino floor that will house 1,500 slots and 50 table games. The complex will also include a 200-room hotel, eight restaurants, and a 1,300-space parking deck. The facility will overlook Harbor Park, a 12,000-seat stadium that is the home of the Norfolk Tides, the AAA affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. 

That complex would be open in late 2027, if construction goes to plan. The timeline for construction also includes opening a temporary casino in a 7,200-square-foot tent-like structure sometime in late 2025. 

That temporary casino is critical, as the Pamunkey tribe must have at least a temporary casino running in its location by November 2025 or the voter referendum that approved the casino will be considered void.

There are still some steps to complete before construction can start on Norfolk Casino, which was previously known as the HeadWaters Resort & Casino. The developers must go through the city permitting process and complete the purchase of the land the complex is being built on, Norfolk spokesperson Kelly Straub told The Virginian-Pilot.

Boyd Gaming currently operates 28 casino properties in 10 states. The company has committed to spending approximately $500 million on the Norfolk Casino.