The Cordish Companies’ Live! Casino & Hotel Richmond proposal was selected by the City of Richmond, Va., to advance as one of two finalists in a bid to bring a resort casino to the city. The company’s proposal is based on such metrics as the company’s track record and experience, job creation, tax revenues and community impacts for the city.
The $600 million casino entertainment resort proposed by Live! features amenities including a 300-room luxury hotel with a resort pool, spa and wellness center, a casino with 2,000 state-of-the-art slots and electronic table games and 120 live-action table games, a sportsbook, event center, a festival lawn for community events and outdoor entertainment, and 18 dining and entertainment options.
The addition of the project’s casino entertainment resort amenities in Richmond’s Scott’s Addition entertainment district (which lies immediately off the Route 95 south exit into the city) will draw new visitors from throughout the region and enhance the city’s convention and tourism efforts. It is estimated that the Cordish proposal will generate 8,000 new jobs for local workers – 5,000 new construction jobs and 3,000 new permanent jobs – with the proposed worker compensation package averaging $60,000 in wages and benefits; no hourly employee will earn less than $15 an hour.
The project will generate in excess of $7.5 billion in overall economic impact benefits, $1.5 billion in tax revenue and over $200 million in incremental community benefit payments during the first 15 years of the project.
These payments will help fund critical community services such as infrastructure, education, health care, parks and recreation, workforce development and affordable housing. Further, Live! Casino & Hotel Richmond has committed to 50 percent ownership in the project by local and minority investors, including Pro Football Hall of Famers Bruce Smith, Emmitt Smith III, former NFL player and local resident Billy McMullen, and other prominent business owners and former professional athletes.
Live!’s investment from Minority participants totals $180 million, more than two-and-one-half times the total equity investment of the remaining competitor.
The Cordish Companies, which has also developed Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Fla., and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, Fla., recently opened two flagship properties in Pennsylvania: Live! Casino Pittsburgh and Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia.