By Brian Trompeter
It may not be popular with local civic groups, but a bill to let Fairfax County hold a referendum on building a casino in Tysons is advancing in the state Senate.
The Gaming Subcommittee of the state Senate’s Committee on General Laws and Technology voted 10-4 (with one abstention) Jan. 23 to advance the legislation, SB 675, patroned by state Sen. David Marsden (D-Fairfax).
The bill on Jan. 24 was re-referred to the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations.
The bill would add Fairfax County to the list of localities eligible to host a casino and require that such a facility be built within a quarter-mile of a station on Metrorail’s Silver Line, outside Interstate 495 and not on the flight path of Washington Dulles International Airport. It also would need to be part of a mixed-use development and sited within 2 miles of a major shopping destination with at least 1.5 million square feet of gross floor area.
Some media outlets have identified the intended location as a former auto dealership near the Spring Hill Metro station.
The subcommittee’s substitute version removed language concerning labor and prevailing wages, changed the location of one casino from Richmond to Petersburg and allowed for a six-casino license in Virginia, largely to be “based on regional fairness and diversity,” Marsden said.
“We think it’s important that these things are dealt with in such a way that every region of the commonwealth has a chance to advantage and contribute to the commonwealth’s coffers,” he said.
The bill would allow the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to hold a public referendum on the casino, if they so desired.
“I have spoken with [the supervisors] and they are always willing to look at these situations, do their due diligence, do their analytics, do their research to find out what the benefits would be, what the issues would be, how to deal with transportation and what have you,” he said. “That kind of local control is very important.”
The MGM National Harbor casino in suburban Maryland is “taking $150 million a year out of Virginia coffers and from Northern Virginia’s citizens,” he said.
A Tysons casino would draw people from parts of Maryland that are farther away from the MGM National Harbor, Marsden said. Road upgrades, such as the 495 NEXT Project, would enable that, Marsden said, and could include not only a casino, but a hotel, concert venue and conference center.
Sen. Christopher Head (R-Roanoke), who has received many e-mails about the casino, asked if any local civic associations supported it. (The McLean and Great Falls citizens associations, for example, do not. Marsden said two groups favored the casino, but did not name them).
Much of the opposition “is orchestrated by the folks across the river at MGM to make sure that their interests are preserved,” he said.
Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria-Arlington) asked if the bill would mandate construction of a conference center. Marsden said that would be up to Fairfax County officials, who long have sought a conference facility.
Landscape-company operator Frank Murphy of McLean said Fairfax County residents should be able to vote on the casino. The bill “provides a much better solution for Northern Virginia’s future than raising business and property taxes or reducing county services,” he said.
Another proponent was Benita Thompson-Byas, executive vice president of Reston-based Thompson Hospitality, which would be a minority partner in the proposed development. The hospitality industry’s revenues are down 67 percent thanks to remote-work policies, she said.
“We believe this project would be a boon for the entire commonwealth,” Thompson-Byas.
Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce president Julie Coons said the group supports the bill as “an important driver of the diversification of our regional economy.”
The mixed-use, transit-oriented casino, conference center and performing-arts venue would bring about $2 billion to the region and bring thousands of new jobs to Fairfax County, she said.
No one testified against the bill, but Ebbin said he remained conflicted.
“I think a casino could be a real economic opportunity in Fairfax County,” Ebbin said, but local governments usually come forward and ask legislators for authority to put such proposals on a referendum.
“I wish that the Board of Supervisors had prepared some kind of public-engagement process at the front end, rather than us telling them that they can do a referendum only on one site,” he said.
Ebbin said he would oppose the bill unless the county more actively seeks support from Richmond. Marsden said he had been in contact with Fairfax County officials and that they did not feel it was “appropriate to come forward with this.”
“I have not had one Board of Supervisors member call me and say, ‘Dave, don’t do this,’” he said.
Claudia Arko, Fairfax County’s legislative director, said county officials have not formulated a position on the casino yet.
“I think the county’s biggest interest is really maintaining local authority and as much flexibility as we can get,” she said, adding the county officials also were seeking more public engagement on the matter.
Sen. Bryce Reeves (R-Fredericksburg) supported the bill and said six was the magic number of casinos in Virginia and he would not vote to approve more.
