The group behind the Norfolk casino will spend $750 million to develop the project, Boyd Gaming president and CEO Keith Smith said Wednesday after a ceremonial groundbreaking next to Harbor Park.It’s the first time in years that anyone’s talked about the project costing anywhere near that much.The Pamunkey Indian Tribe’s original 2018 pitch was for a soaring $700 million glass tower hotel and casino, but that was before the state legalized casinos in certain cities and competitors popped up.The project was scaled back over the years. Just six weeks ago, as the city council approved Boyd’s entry into the project, the company said it would spend somewhere around $500 million.It’s not clear what the extra $250 million will be for, though Smith verified that he hadn’t misspoken when asked by WHRO.“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,” Smith said.Boyd joined with the Pamunkey Tribe and took 80% ownership of the company that will own and operate the Norfolk casino this summer, after years of unexplained delays and reports that Norfolk leaders were exploring other options behind the scenes.Though the groundbreaking was Wednesday, complete with a Pamunkey tribal member blessing the land with tobacco and the Norfolk State marching band playing the national anthem, the group still hasn’t submitted full building plans or secured the necessary permits to start work.“We wouldn’t be here kicking off the project if we were uncomfortable with where we were at,” Smith said.Ahead of the event, three current and former casino workers held signs asking Boyd and the tribe not to allow smoking in the new casino. Anti-smoking groups have been pushing to ban smoking in casinos, citing health harms to patrons and especially workers. Some city officials expressed disappointment at the new owners’ plan to allow smoking inside, since previous plans had called for a smoke-free environment.First will be a temporary casino, which Smith reiterated Wednesday is expected to break ground before the end of this year. That will need to be up and running a year from now to satisfy legal requirements related to the 2020 referendum approving the casino.The company has said the final casino project will wrap in late 2027.
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