Norfolk residents could be getting gambling at their minor league baseball park before the construction of a planned casino finishes next door.
Developers of the Headwaters Resort & Casino are pitching Norfolk City Council members on plans to construct a limited, temporary gaming facility inside Harbor Park. The casino and restaurant would be located on the right side of the stadium in the current Norfolk Boxing Center and Hits at the Park restaurant.
Conversations between the city, who owns Harbor Park, and casino developers about the project have just started, Headwaters spokesperson Jay Smith said. City officials shared the idea with council members during their annual retreat March 4. Many specifics, like the types of games that would be offered or the cost of the project, haven’t been determined yet, Smith said. He said casino developers think the investment needed would be significant.
“We’re ready to make the investment and we’re ready to create job opportunities,” Smith said.
This isn’t the first time Norfolk Tides leadership has talked about some kind of gaming component at Hits at the Park, team President Ken Young said. Last year, team leadership discussed the idea of the restaurant offering a sports betting operation after Virginia legalized the practice in April 2020.
But the team hit a roadblock in applying for a facility operator license from the Virginia Lottery. The board must issue a license to casino operators before they can begin operations, and has not done so for any of the four announced Virginia casino operators.
The license problem is one reason Smith said the temporary casino isn’t in response to anything the Portsmouth casino developer Rush Street Gaming is doing. The operator broke ground on Rivers Casino Portsmouth in December with a planned opening in early 2023.
Construction has yet to begin on Headwaters, but casino officials say the first phase of building will also finish in 2023. Smith said no casino can operate in any capacity, whether temporary or otherwise, until being approved by the Virginia Lottery.
Young, who also owns minor league baseball teams in New Mexico and Mississippi, said he’s very supportive of the idea for a temporary gaming venue. He predicted betting facilities will become common sights in professional sports stadiums in the near future. He said he had stepped away from a Major League Baseball webinar on sports betting during his interview with The Pilot.
“There is going to be plenty of it in the future in baseball,” he said.
Still, Norfolk will have to find a home for its boxing center before a gaming facility can move in, said Jared Chalk, director of economic development. The City Council discussed moving the center, which has been closed since the pandemic began, back in October. Parks and Recreation Director Darrell Crittendon proposed moving the boxing facility to Ingleside Recreation Center, but was told to wait by council members. The 13,000-square-foot boxing center had opened in late 2016.
Norfolk City Council would ultimately have final say over the project’s approval, Chalk said. The temporary casino is on the agenda for the Norfolk City Planning Commission meeting on April 28.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com
