And so in that location was one — Urban One.
The media conglomerate, whose military mission “is to follow the most trusted source inward the Afro-American community,” has gained the backing of officials in the Old Dominion State cap metropolis of Richmond. Six cassino bids were submitted for Richmond’s fillet of sole gaming privileges, and this week, the city made Urban One the prescribed winner.
After reviewing the tierce finalists — Urban One, The Cordish Companies, and Bally’s Corporation — Richmond’s Resort Casino Evaluation Panel chose the Urban One blueprint known as ONE Casino + Resort.
ONE Casino + Resort presents a tremendous chance to develop a resort hotel gambling casino projection inwards Richmond,” said Mayor Levar Stoney. “The project will make o'er 1,000 good-paying jobs, bring forth a important amount of new revenue for the city, and base an additional economical engine inwards South Richmond.”
ONE Casino + Resort is targeting 100 acres of set ashore next to the Philip Robert Morris HQ simply cancelled I-95. The to a greater extent than $600 trillion integrated resort is mark to lineament a 250-room hotel, a spa, 15 bars and restaurants, a 3,000-person event center, a 55-acre parkland and putting surface space, TV and radiocommunication production studios, and a 100,000-square-foot gambling casino flooring with 2,000 expansion slot machines, 110 tabularize games, and sportsbook.
Richmond voters testament at present human face a ballot referendum next strike with ONE project details. If a simple bulk backs the question, the casino will follow authorized.
Stock Soars
Publicly traded on the Nasdaq, shares of Urban One reacted positively to the news. As of afternoon trading, the stockpile was upward to a greater extent than 25 percent to $4.60.
Urban One claims to follow the largest distributor of urban cognitive content in the country. The empire says its television, radio, and online computer programing reaches 82 percent of Joseph Black America.
The company, headquartered outdoors President Washington DC, is now trying to extend to a new demographic: gamblers. Since it has no experience inwards the gaming industry, Urban One has partnered with Peninsula Pacific Entertainment (P2E).
P2E’s gambling casino portfolio includes Hard Rock Hotel & Casino inward Siouan City, Ia., Colonial Downs Racetrack in New Kent, Va., and del Lago Resort & Casino inward Waterloo, N.Y. The accompany is also currently trying to relocate its gaming certify in Louisiana from Bossier City to Slidell.
Location, Location, Location
Richmond ab initio fielded half a dozen gambling casino proposals. However, the city’s Evaluation Panel apace dismissed schemes from Golden Nugget, Wind Creek Hospitality, and the Pamunkey Amerind Tribe on various concerns.
After existence named finalists, the pitches from Bally’s and Cordish generated a strong backlash from local communities and neighborhoods where the firms were targeting their casino projects. That wasn’t the slip with Urban One’s plans for ONE, which would be built inwards a big manufacturing area.
One key factor in in the cobbler's last few weeks has been community support,” explained Richmond Councilman Andreas Addison, who served on the rating panel. “I reckon it’s heavily weighted.”
Urban One originally said its cassino resort hotel would be $517 one thousand thousand to construct, but has since raised that enter to more than $600 million. The society says, erstwhile complete, ONE Casino + Resort will be the “only black-owned casino inward the country.”
Along with P2E, Urban One says it has recruited more than 50 nonage investors for the development.