Casino feud erupts between Tysons and Virginia state lawmakers
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Local leaders around Tysons are digging in to fight a casino from being built there — slamming state lawmakers who greenlit a hurried casino bill over the weekend.
Why it matters: Boosters see a lucrative Tysons mall-sized mixed use development, but a powerful county official stands in the way, siding with many neighbors who sniff at the thought of slot machines down the street.
State of play: It took years of trying, but the Virginia legislature approved the casino bill on Saturday, thanks to supporters like Scott Surovell, an influential state senator who represents Fairfax.
- The legislation calls for a 1.5 million-square-foot project just outside the Beltway, within a quarter-mile from an existing Silver Line Metro station.
Surovell says a casino will diversify the county's tax base to help fund its high-quality schools, public safety and key services. At a time when the county population is dipping, per estimates from a UVA study.
- "I have not heard [an] alternative" to grow the county, Surovell told me in a text, "and in the meantime we are losing the fight to all of our neighboring jurisdictions."
Follow the money: A casino would generate an estimated $62 million in annual local and state taxes, according to a feasibility study first reported by FFXNow.
Friction point: Surovell's casino advocacy makes him a pariah among locals, chief among them being Fairfax County chairman Jeff McKay, who feels like Richmond is big-footing.
- McKay has said the bill was a nonstarter — that his board of supervisors would simply choose to not schedule the voter referendum required for it to proceed.
- "I will continue to fight any and all efforts to jam a casino in Tysons," McKay said in a statement Saturday.
- An anti-casino group called the Tysons Stakeholder Alliance believes it would bring too much car traffic, increase crime and hurt the neighborhood's character.
Zoom in: Earlier this year, Caesars Entertainment revealed they'd be open to the Tysons opportunity, two years after opening a casino 250 miles south in Danville, Virginia.
- Last year, Reston-based developer Comstock released conceptual renderings of a casino-anchored project with an arts venue, five-star hotel, apartments and more.
What's next: Gov. Abigail Spanberger has a big decision to make — it's on her desk to sign or veto.