Norfolk Hopes Boyd Casino Will Lead to City Nightlife Revitalization
Posted on: September 23, 2025, 06:55h.
Last updated on: September 23, 2025, 09:06h.
- City officials in Norfolk, Va. hope the casino will spur additional investment
- The downtown area has little nightlife following a crime crackdown
- Crime rates have improved, though many nearby residents continue to avoid the city
Norfolk is set to become the fourth city in Virginia with a casino when a temporary gaming facility from Boyd Gaming opens adjacent to the Harbor Park Minor League Baseball Stadium this fall.
Las Vegas-based Boyd is leading a $750 million investment in Norfolk to open an integrated resort casino on the banks of the Elizabeth River. The to-be-named gaming, entertainment, and hospitality destination is set to open in 2027. A provisional gaming facility, dubbed The Interim Gaming Hall, will open in November.
City officials in the Hampton Roads town hope to revitalize the downtown area with the opening of the full-scale casino resort.
We have a premier baseball team, a premier world-class casino facility. What else can we do?” pondered Sean Washington, executive director of the Norfolk Economic Development Authority, in remarks to The Virginian-Pilot.
Boyd, along with its local partner, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, is in the early stages of constructing a 200-key hotel with a casino floor equipped with 1,500 slot machines, 50 live-dealer table games, and a sportsbook. Eight food and beverage venues, a full-service spa and gym, a 45K-square-foot amenity deck, 13K square feet of meeting space, and a 1,000-space parking garage are also in the blueprint.
Downtown Vibes Cool
Norfolk’s downtown nightlife scene is rather quiet these days after local law enforcement embarked on a citywide crackdown of nightclubs to curb crime starting about three years ago. In response to several high-profile shootings, alcohol-related violations, and other misdeeds, Norfolk ramped up its code inspections and law enforcement.
In 2022, police investigated 63 homicides, a 30-year high. The downtown crime crackdown paid off, with murders and other violent crime dropping more than 40% two years later. Crime worries, however, continue to keep many regional residents out of the city.
Many downtown spaces are vacant, including at the Waterside District, the city’s “premier 120K-square-foot mixed-use destination.” Waterside was developed in partnership with The Cordish Companies, the owner and operator of Live! Casinos in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and, in the coming years, Virginia by way of Petersburg.
Last year, Cordish unsuccessfully sued Norfolk on allegations that it was to be the city’s preferred gaming partner should Virginia legalize casinos. The Baltimore-based firm argued that its $40 million Waterside development agreement mandated that it have first dibs on a casino. A circuit court judge disagreed.
The Waterside District has five available spaces for rent, including a 13,558-square-foot venue on the second floor.
City Revitalization
Washington hopes the Norfolk casino returns nearby residents and visitors to the city’s riverbank, and additional investments come with the Boyd development. Norfolk could certainly use it.
According to the US Census Bureau, about 15% of people within the city live in poverty. The median household income is just $64K, a far cry from the Virginia median rate of $93K.
Norfolk needs more jobs. Boyd says the Norfolk casino construction will create 2,850 construction jobs and 850 permanent positions. Boyd projects the casino will generate a local economic impact of $2.9 billion and $583 million in salaries and wages over the property’s first 10 years.
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