St. Petersburg receives five responses to casino request for proposals
The St. Petersburg City Council's request for proposals (RFP) period ended last month with responses from five companies interested in partnering with the Virginia City to develop a casino resort.
State lawmakers voted this year to move the Richmond Casino license to Petersburg, about 25 miles south, after residents of the capital twice voted against becoming a casino destination. Petersburg will likely soon be designated as a casino host site by the state Legislature, along with Norfolk, Portsmouth, Danville and Bristol.
Governor. Glenn Younkin (R) introduced legislation in the General Assembly this week that would make the economically struggling city eligible to open casinos. The governor called on the House and Senate to remove the restoration provision, which would have required state lawmakers to vote again to designate a casino in Petersburg before holding a local referendum on the issue.
St. Petersburg officials opened a casino RFP in February to gauge interest. The city received five responses, several of which were nationally known casino developers and operators.
Some Answers
The five companies that completed the bid include The Cordish Companies, Penn Entertainment, Bally's Corporation, Rush Street Gaming and The Warrenton Group.
Headquartered in Pennsylvania, Penn Entertainment is one of the largest regional casino developers and operators in the United States. The company operates primarily under the Hollywood Casino brand.
Cordish, based in Baltimore, plans to build a $1.4 billion integrated resort-casino project in Petersburg in 2022. Cordish operates four Live! locations in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Bally's, based in Rhode Island, is developing a $1.1 billion casino in downtown Chicago. However, the company has fallen into financial troubles and recently suffered multiple credit rating downgrades.
Headquartered in Chicago, Rush Street Gaming owns and operates Portsmouth River Casino. The company also operates river casinos in Pennsylvania, Illinois and New York.
Warrenton is a native of Washington, D.C. The company says on its website that it is an "innovator" in developing "mixed-income and market-rate housing" and has developed more than $1 billion worth of real estate. It has no casino inventory.
Cordersh’s favorite?
In 2021 and 2022, state lawmakers consider granting Petersburg a casino license. During this time, Peterborough partnered with Cordish, which proposed a $1.4 billion project to be built in multiple phases and years.
The Virginia General Assembly ultimately rejected Petersburg's efforts during these legislative sessions. St. Petersburg has been criticized for not submitting competitive bids for its potential casino and for what appears to be a backroom deal with Live! Has been completed. Casino operators.
This time, city officials are taking a more transparent approach. Cordish believes this remains the best opportunity for Petersburg, a city with a majority black population.
Cordish teamed up with NFL Hall of Famer Bruce Smith to make his case. Smith, a Norfolk native, played with the Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders during a 19-year career.
Smith, who got into real estate after his career ended in 2003, said Petersburg officials needed to choose a developer with ties to Virginia.
"Outsourcing a project of this scale to a console developer that has no connection to or interest in supporting the community will do nothing to solve the problem," Smith said in a Cordish press release. "To transform the lives of historically disadvantaged and underserved populations, As a result, we must have the ability to strengthen our communities from within.”
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Source: www.casino.org
