• About Us / Contact
  • Responsible Gambling
This site contains commercial content
SportsHandle
  • US Sports Betting
    • Arizona
    • Arkansas
    • Colorado
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Louisiana
    • Maine
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Mississippi
    • New Jersey
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • Ohio
    • Oregon
    • Pennsylvania
    • Tennessee
    • Virginia
    • West Virginia
    • Wyoming
  • Pending States
    • California
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Missouri
    • North Carolina
  • Canada
    • Ontario
    • British Columbia
    • Alberta
  • Sportsbook Apps
    • FanDuel
    • BetMGM
    • Caesars
    • PointsBet
    • BetRivers
  • Tools
    • Sportsbook Bonuses Explained
    • Sports Betting Revenue Tracker
    • Sports Betting Podcasts
    • Partnership Tracker
    • Expected Value
    • Sports Scores And Odds Apps
    • Sports Betting Twitter
  • News
No Result
View All Result
SportsHandle
  • US Sports Betting
    • Arizona
    • Arkansas
    • Colorado
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Louisiana
    • Maine
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Mississippi
    • New Jersey
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • Ohio
    • Oregon
    • Pennsylvania
    • Tennessee
    • Virginia
    • West Virginia
    • Wyoming
  • Pending States
    • California
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Missouri
    • North Carolina
  • Canada
    • Ontario
    • British Columbia
    • Alberta
  • Sportsbook Apps
    • FanDuel
    • BetMGM
    • Caesars
    • PointsBet
    • BetRivers
  • Tools
    • Sportsbook Bonuses Explained
    • Sports Betting Revenue Tracker
    • Sports Betting Podcasts
    • Partnership Tracker
    • Expected Value
    • Sports Scores And Odds Apps
    • Sports Betting Twitter
  • News
No Result
View All Result
SportsHandle
No Result
View All Result

Cordish Makes Its Pitch To Build Live! Casino In Richmond

Group trying to add to sites in Philadelphia and Baltimore along East Coast corridor

Chris Altruda by Chris Altruda
March 31, 2021
in Industry
Virginia Richmond Cordish casino

Shutterstock

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The Cordish Companies was the first of three groups to make its public pitch to build a casino in the city of Richmond on Tuesday night, promoting a $600 million project that includes a 250,000-square-foot casino and 330-room hotel. Urban One and Bally’s, the other two finalists, will pitch on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Virginia, which launched sports betting in mid-January, is in the process of greatly expanding its gaming prospects. Along with sports betting, the state made it legal for five cities to have brick-and-mortar casinos. In November 2020, voters in four of those cities approved casinos. Richmond has has been on a different timeline, and voters there won’t have their say on a casino until November 2021, but the city is already considering potential partners.

The Cordish Companies has a well-recognized presence in casino gaming through the Live! casinos in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Florida. Adding Richmond would give Cordish three Live! locations along the East Coast corridor with venues in Philadelphia and suburban Baltimore. The proposed Richmond would be on Arthur Ashe Boulevard in the Scott’s Addition neighborhood.

Cordish, which has an agreement with FanDuel for its retail sportsbooks at the Maryland and Philadelphia properties, also has some local sports star power among its investors, including Pro Football Hall-of-Famer and Virginia Beach resident Bruce Smith and ex-NFL player Jermon Bushrod.

FanDuel is already a licensed operator in Virginia through the Washington Football team.

Job creation and community benefits

Zed Smith, Cordish partner and chief operating officer, led his company’s 30-minute presentation that emphasized job creation and community benefits. He drew upon Live!’s other successful casinos and noted the company’s emphasis on being “urbanists and community builders,” for whom Richmond would align with “our sensibilities as developers.”

Smith said the starting wage at the prospective casino would be $15 per hour and noted the average salary of an employee would be $60,000 per year. When asked during a public question-and-answer session how Cordish arrived at that figure, Smith said positions such as table dealers, who go through an eight-week training program, could achieve such a salary.

He also promoted Cordish’s tuition reimbursement plan as well as “clear pathways” to see where employees can advance within the company. Smith said there would also be targeted hiring in the Richmond area with a focus on workforce development that would include developing a gaming school and workshops in local communities.

In terms of economic benefits for Richmond, Cordish CEO Joe Weinberg said the full build-out, which would also include a 4,000-seat venue for live entertainment and 40,000 square feet of multipurpose space, would generate an estimated $7.5 billion in total economic stimulus to the Richmond area over its first 15 years. Cordish claimed it would generate up to 3,000 permanent new jobs at the new venue and 5,000 direct and indirect jobs during the construction process.

Weinberg also estimated $1.5 billion in gaming taxes to the state and more than $450 million in gaming taxes to Richmond in that span. Beyond that, Cordish said it would provide payments of $200 million toward community benefits, since the city is not paying for any infrastructure improvements related to the winning bid.

Some local pushback

β€œWe say no to a casino on Arthur Ashe Blvd,” signs by the Diamond read. @cordishco, which is proposing to build Live! Casino & Hotel Richmond in Scott’s Addition is presenting a video to the community right now. Join the meeting here: https://t.co/LZxj0XropV @8NEWS pic.twitter.com/FMgXOWKaO5

— Laura Perrot 8News (@LauraCPerrot) March 30, 2021

Not everyone is in favor of having a casino in Scott’s Addition, as the Live! proposed location is the only one of the three finalists on the north side of the city. Scott’s Addition is home to Richmond’s brewery scene, is dotted with street murals, a retro bowling alley, and other destinations.

A flyer circulated in the area that read “NO! We say no to a casino on Arthur Ashe Boulevard! More traffic. Higher crime. Lower quality of life for us. Tell them to build it over there” was captured on social media, and the inferred racial overtones for wanting the casino on the south side of the city drew a response.

β€œWe’re building a narrative of Richmond as a progressive city, moving past the painful history of the Confederacy, taking down monuments and building equity in our policies,” South Side community activist Amy Wentz told the Richmond-Times Dispatch. “Everyone is on this wave of thinking; and then here we go with this. People don’t value our neighborhoods equally.”

ShareTweetShare
Chris Altruda

Chris Altruda

Chris Altruda has been a sportswriter with ESPN, The Associated Press, and STATS over more than two decades. He recently expanded into covering sports betting and gambling around the Midwest. His Twitter handle is @AlTruda73 and can be reached via email at [email protected]

Related Posts

George Kubas/Getty Images
Industry

New Bally’s CEO Eyes Data-Driven Approach To Revive Sports Betting Division

February 24, 2023
whats on tap
Industry

What’s On Tap: Caesars Q4 Earnings, MGC Hearing, And LIV Golf Opener

February 20, 2023
Load More

Top Stories

taylor mathis

Taylor Mathis Got Sacrificed At The Altar Of Responsible Gambling

March 20, 2023
fanduel baseball wall

Premade Same Game Parlays Are Sucker Bets

March 13, 2023
maginfier-over-small-print

Read The Fine Print: A Proposed Federal Rule Could Change Everything For Indian Gaming

March 6, 2023
roman reigns wwe

Colorado Denies Report Stating That It’s Considering WWE Wagering

March 8, 2023

State Sports Betting Guides

Ohio (U.S. state) flag waving against clear blue sky, close up, isolated with clipping path mask alpha channel transparency, perfect for film, news, composition

Ohio Sports Betting – Where To Play, Bonus Offers And Promo Codes

by Brian Pempus
March 27, 2023

Downtown Detroit at twilight (Shutterstock)

Michigan Sports Betting – Where To Play, Online Sportsbooks, And FAQ

by Brett Smiley
March 27, 2023

VA captial

Virginia Sports Betting – Where To Play, Online Sportsbooks And Bonus Offers

by Brett Smiley
January 17, 2023

nj flag

New Jersey Sports Betting — Where To Play, Online Sportsbooks, And FAQ

by Brett Smiley
March 22, 2023

pa online sportsbooks

Pennsylvania Sports Betting – Where To Play, Online Sportsbooks And Bonuses

by Brett Smiley
October 6, 2022

Canada Sports Betting Guides

Canada Sports Betting – Best Sportsbook Apps & Bonus Offers

British Columbia Sports Betting – Legal Update, Available Sportsbooks, and FAQ

Ontario Sports Betting – Legal Status And Where To Play

SportsHandle

  • Analysis
  • Casino
  • Features
  • Horse Racing
  • Industry
  • Legal
  • Legislation
  • Opinion
  • Podcasts
  • Poker
  • Politics
  • Promotions
  • Regulation
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized

Better Collective

This website is owned and operated by Better Collective USA. Trademarks and copyrights referenced on this website are and shall remain the exclusive property of their respective owners and/or licensors. Please be sure to visit the operator’s website(s) to review their terms & conditions. We advise you to read these carefully as they contain important information. Copyright Β© 2023 USBets.com | Better Collective USA
21 Play Responsibly
Gamble Aware West Virginia
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
GameSense

Search Sports Handle

No Result
View All Result
  • About Us / Contact
  • Responsible Gambling

No Result
View All Result
  • US Sports Betting
    • Arizona
    • Arkansas
    • Colorado
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Louisiana
    • Maine
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Mississippi
    • New Jersey
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • Ohio
    • Oregon
    • Pennsylvania
    • Tennessee
    • Virginia
    • West Virginia
    • Wyoming
  • Pending States
    • California
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Missouri
    • North Carolina
  • Canada
    • Ontario
    • British Columbia
    • Alberta
  • Sportsbook Apps
    • FanDuel
    • BetMGM
    • Caesars
    • PointsBet
    • BetRivers
  • Tools
    • Sportsbook Bonuses Explained
    • Sports Betting Revenue Tracker
    • Sports Betting Podcasts
    • Partnership Tracker
    • Expected Value
    • Sports Scores And Odds Apps
    • Sports Betting Twitter
  • News

loading

Please wait while you are redirected to the right page...