Danville, Virginia is expected to support casino legislation

“We are talking about an unprecedented number of jobs and significant new revenue in our city,” Mayor Alonzo Jones said Friday. “We continue to gather information and confirm facts, but it’s too large of a potential investment opportunity to dismiss out of the gate.”

Council members will discuss the resolution at a business session scheduled for January 3, 2019. The legislation will be presented in the upcoming General Assembly, wjhl.com reports.

Jones continued, saying, “Ultimately, the decision will be made by the General Assembly and then, by referendum, the citizens of this city. The resolution we will vote on next week simply advances the matter for further study and consideration by the various committees and subgroups of the General Assembly.”

United Company of Bristol first pitched the project to Danville City Council back in October.

Since then, Chmura Economics and Analytics has prepared an independent employment and fiscal impact analysis of a casino resort with hotel, restaurants, entertainment and convention space.

The Chmura study produced the following numbers:

• A one-time economic impact of $118.7 million and 182 jobs for the renovation and construction of a casino resort.
• In 2022, the project would generate 2,534 direct and indirect/induced jobs.
• By 2028, the project would grow to 5,426 direct jobs and 1,408 indirect/induced jobs.
• In 2022, the project would generate a direct and indirect/induced economic impact of $384.8 million.
• By 2028, the direct economic impact would grow to $909 million, with another $183 million in indirect/induced impact.
• In 2022, the project would generate $12.1 million in local taxes.
• By 2028, the local taxes would grow to $20.3 million.