the site for the temporary casino<\/a> first surfaced in March.<\/p>\nThe casino will be physically connected to the baseball park and views from the restaurant will allow patrons to watch a Norfolk Tides game and enjoy a meal at the same time. However, John Thompson with Golden Eagle Consulting, a development partner with the Pamunkey Tribe, told the commission that baseball officials would not allow direct access to the temporary casino from the stadium\u2019s concourse.<\/p>\n
That means anyone watching the Triple-A baseball team who would want to play the slots would have to physically leave the stadium and walk around to the casino entrance on the first base side of the park.<\/p>\n
As part of the agreement to operate the temporary casino at the park, Thompson said HeadWaters would pay the Tides $175,000 to cover upgrades for the stadium\u2019s kitchen facilities. That would also move the kitchen closer to the ballpark\u2019s concessions located on the third base side.<\/p>\n
That agreement, though, is also contingent on the City Council approving the conditional use permit.<\/p>\n
Security Concerns Arise<\/h2>\n
One of the main issues that arose from Thursday\u2019s meeting was concerns about safety for casino patrons and the surrounding area.<\/p>\n
The Norfolk Civic League spoke in opposition to the proposal, citing concerns that the casino would stretch the city\u2019s police patrols responsible for covering downtown. The group did receive an 88-page security plan from casino officials just prior to the commission meeting. But Civic League Vice Chair Preston Carraway said the organization would need to review that first before it could get behind the temporary casino.<\/p>\n
The lone “No” vote came from Commissioner Kim Sudderth, who said she also needed to see the security plan before she could support it.<\/p>\n
\n
Ferguson gave the commission details about the security plans for the temporary venue before Carraway spoke and its members voted. The plan includes hiring and training 45 security officers that will monitor the casino around-the-clock. The casino will also come equipped with detection equipment to keep weapons and items like pepper spray out of the facility.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
HeadWaters executives also have had discussions with a third-party security firm that also does work in the area to patrol the parking lot and surrounding areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe take it very seriously,\u201d<\/strong> he said. \u201cWe know that when a person comes to the facility, when the person is at the facility, when the person leaves the facility, they want to feel safe. If you don’t feel safe, you’re not going to come back. So, it’s been at the top of our list.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A casino in Norfolk, Va., is another step closer to opening. That’s after that city\u2019s Planning Commission supported a plan to use space at a local minor league baseball stadium for a temporary gaming venue. With a 5-1 vote at its meeting Thursday, the commission recommended a two-year conditional use permit for the Pamunkey Indian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":215336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Norfolk Temporary Casino at Ballpark Gets Planning Commission's Support<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n