‘Shovel the dirt:’ Petersburg Live! Casino Resort expected to start construction next month

PETERSBURG, Va. (WWBT) - Anticipation for the Petersburg Live! Casino Resort continues to grow as the city green lights zoning permits to build the $1.4 billion project.

“The zoning approval this week was really a key step to saying all of that work leading up to this has put us in a position where we can actually shovel the dirt,” said Rob Norton, president of Cordish Gaming Group.

He said that now that they have the permits, they plan to potentially break ground on the nearly 100-acre property sometime in March.

“It’s been a tremendously rewarding and challenging, but exciting three, four years to get here,” he said.

Once the ground is broken, they’ll build a temporary casino facility, potentially creating 400 to 500 jobs and revenue while the official casino and resort are built. That’s expected to be up and operating this year.

“The temporary casino will have a good assortment of slots and tables, and it will have some food and beverage, but it will be something that will operate somewhere in the neighborhood of about two years,” he said.

The official casino resort should be completed in 2027, and the temporary one will be demolished. It is projected to generate $2.8 billion in revenue for the region and create 7,500 construction and permanent jobs in its first 10 years.

Anyone interested in applying can get updates and information on valive.casino.