Headwaters Casino to Soon Have a New Temporary Site

Headwaters Resort & Casino is about to complete the construction of its permanent infrastructure; however, it is not due to open by 2024. Until then, Pamunkey Tribe has suggested a new site for the temporary infrastructure that will operate until the permanent building is up & running.

If approved, the parking lot of Harbor Park would be the new temporary site. It will house a 35-foot casino spread across 45,000 square feet of land, equivalent to the parking space of 300 cars. The temporary infrastructure will have all the basic requirements, like a bar, a restaurant, and hundreds of gaming machines.

Final approval is yet to be published by the authorities at the city council. The temporary structure will take up to six months to kick start its operations, and everyone will be able to visit the location and play their favorite casino game. Norfolk will host the temporary site at the location where the permanent site is being built.

What led to this event was a change in the address that was made on the website by the city officials. According to the 2020 referendum, the site can only be built with an approximate address of 200 Park Avenue. Harbor Park, however, has always carried the address as 150 Park Avenue.

The address was later revised when the temporary site was approved for Harbor Park. This came to the notice of commissioners, who later questioned the officials.

Officials responded by saying that it was a routine adjustment in the boundary. This issue led to the closure of the temporary casino plan. Now that a new temporary site has been suggested by Pamunkey Tribe, it could be approved in their hands soon.

Headwater Resort & Casino is being built with a lavish amount of facilities. It is estimated to cost over $500 million to pump the attractive features like 150 table games, a 300-room hotel, and 3,000 slot machines. Moreover, Headwater Resort & Casino will have multiple dining options, a spa, and a rooftop pool.

According to a development agreement signed between the Pamunkey Tribe and the city of Norfolk, the 13.4-acre campus of the casino was to be built with the Elizabeth River, next to Harbor Park. It was approved in January 2020 when Norfolk voters approved the November 2020 referendum.

The city of Norfolk will benefit from the casino in the form of tax revenue. The casino is estimated to generate tax revenue between $34 million and $44 million every year, representing a 4%-5% increase in the total annual revenue. Not just tax revenue but the casino would also compensate for the job cuts that happened in millions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Having a temporary site in operation is better because people do not lose out on entertainment, and the region continues to have its share of the revenue.