Petersburg Wants New Board to Supervise Casino Community Funding

Petersburg, Virginia, US, has set up a new advisory board to help decide the way money generated by the upcoming Live! Casino Virginia resort will support local projects and services. The seven-member Local Advisory Board will be responsible for reviewing funding requests and recommending how part of the annual payments made by casino developer The Cordish Companies should be spent. The city and the company announced the appointments on October 23. Namely, under the terms of the agreement bringing the casino to Petersburg, the city will set aside 5% of each annual benefit payment from Cordish for community priorities beyond the city’s regular share of casino tax revenue. Potential uses include education, housing improvements, economic development and support for local nonprofit organizations. The board will make recommendations to Petersburg City Council, which will decide how the money is allocated. Who Is on the Advisory Board? The panel will reunite local and state officials, economic development representatives and casino management. The list includes Rob Norton, president of Cordish Gaming Group, Petersburg Vice Mayor Darrin Hill, Virginia state Sen. Lashrecse Aird. and Del. Kimberly Pope Adams, former Petersburg mayor and councilor Annie Mickens, Petersburg Economic Development Authority Chair Sam Rhue, and former EDA member Richard Taylor. Mayor Sam Parham said the casino project was presented to residents and businesses as an opportunity to generate economic benefits for the city. He said the new board would help direct investments toward services and projects serving residents, including young people and seniors. Cordish also expects the development to contribute through employment and tax revenue. Norton said the additional funding would give the city another way to support programs and services addressing local needs. Casino Payments and Development Plans According to an agreement from 2024, Cordish is supposed to pay Petersburg a total of $16 million over the course of a decade. The company also provided a separate, one-time payment of $15 million when the temporary casino opened in January. The Local Advisory Board is the second casino-related panel established to help guide decisions about the project’s financial benefits. A separate citizen board has also been formed to provide input on how casino revenue is spent. Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia is a planned $1.4 billion resort and entertainment complex that is currently under construction off Wagner Road in southern Petersburg. Its temporary casino, a 75,000-square-foot facility, opened on January 22 and is expected to operate until the permanent resort is completed, currently scheduled for December 2027. The development is expected to generate roughly $240 million in revenue for the city during its first 10 years of existence and operations while creating thousands of construction and permanent jobs. Since its opening, the temporary casino has generated more than $105 million in adjusted gross revenue and over $16 million in state and local tax revenue, according to the report. Petersburg is one of five Virginia cities hosting casinos, alongside Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth.