Virginia lawmakers set to revive casino proposal for Fairfax County

Some Virginia lawmakers are preparing to re-introduce a bill that could allow Fairfax County residents to vote on a referendum that, if passed, would bring a casino and conference center to Tysons, according to local media reports.

The proposal, considered earlier this year in Richmond during the legislative session, is expected to be reintroduced in the next General Assembly session, reports 7News. If the bill passes, Fairfax County residents will have the final say on the potential casino in Tysons.

Virginia State Senator Dave Marsden highlighted the benefits of a potential casino in Fairfax County. "We're in a situation where people are starting to really pay attention to how much they're paying in taxes on their homes and on their cars," Marsden said. "We're already seeing this year $450 on the average home going up on real estate taxes."

Marsden emphasized that a casino could provide much-needed tax revenue to relieve homeowners after the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors raised taxes this year despite widespread concerns about affordability.

Marsden also warned that commercial tax revenue is expected to continue declining due to reduced demand for office space with the rise of remote work. “We have a serious situation going on here with a paradigm shift in worker behavior, which has led to huge numbers of office vacancies and much fewer buildings being leased out,” Marsden said, as per 7News. 

“We still have a number of years to go for leases to expire that were taken out before and during the pandemic. And as those leases expire, people are going to come back for much less floor space, just going to put a real hurt on the county's revenue structure.”

However, not all lawmakers support the casino proposal. During this year’s General Assembly session, Virginia State Senator Jennifer Boysko opposed the idea. “The Silver Line where this is proposed to put the casino is Class A top real estate in the county,” Boysko said. “This is where the Fortune 500 companies have come to build their homes. This is where we have focused our economic development for years.”

Marsden countered that the county needs new revenue sources to pay for services residents want. “This is a paradigm shift in worker behavior and it's having dramatic impact on what the county is having to pay for Metro,” Marsden said.

“The goal for Metro originally was to have 60% ridership, 40% subsidy from the local jurisdictions who were part of Metro. The best we ever got to was 40% ridership, 60% subsidy. Today it's 15-85 and because of the change in commercial real estate use, it's also dramatically impacted what the county owes for its Metro subsidy, so a lot of serious issues to look at here.”

According to 7News, which reached out to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for their views, supervisor Pat Herrity said he is weighing the pros and cons of the casino proposal and believes it should ultimately be decided by a voter referendum. Herrity added that Tysons needs an entertainment and business district, including a conference center, to thrive but expressed concerns about potential crime.

Supervisor Andres Jimenez echoed the importance of a referendum and noted that no proposals have come before the Board of Supervisors for a vote. "Fairfax County voters would have a chance to decide through a ballot referendum before anyone broke ground on a proposed project," Jimenez told 7News. "Keeping our options open as to funding sources is important for the long-term vision of Fairfax County so long as it aligns with our residents' decision."