NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — The Pamunkey Indian Tribe’s All In For Norfolk campaign has released new renderings of its proposed $500-million resort casino next to Harbor Park.
In the renderings completed by HKS design, you can see newly-announced features of the 300-plus room hotel, which include a rooftop bar, infinity pool, luxury spa and rooftop outdoor events space.
Other features proposed for the resort casino include a steak and seafood restaurant, sports bar and grill, cafe, spa and 2,500-seat entertainment venue.
“I’m confident that this project will exceed the expectations of everyone. It will be the destination of choice for gaming in Virginia,” said Robert Gray, chief of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe. “We are living up to every promise we made and are determined to make this a project of which Norfolk can be proud.”
Last November, voters in Norfolk approved of casino gaming on the site by a nearly 2:1 margin.
The Virginia Lottery still must grant the tribe’s a casino operator license before it can start construction.
If everything goes according to plan “initial phase” of the project is expected to be completed in 2023, a spokesperson said.
There are some differences between earlier renderings and the new ones released this week: The tall, gleaming tower used to show the project since it was announced in 2018 is gone.
WAVY News first reported in October that the City of Norfolk never required them to build anything that looked like that initial rendering.
There’s also another resort casino proposed for Portsmouth, just across the river.
Plans are still moving forward to build the $300-million Rivers Casino off Victory Boulevard, near where it intersects with Interstate 264.
The Portsmouth casino project team has said it could open as soon as fall 2022 with a gaming floor, sports wagering lounge, event center, outdoor entertainment venue and multiple bars and restaurants.
