CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — 120 new jobs and millions in tax revenues for Chesapeake, those are the numbers expected for a new Rosie’s gaming establishment proposed in the city, one of several in the works to support the return of the Colonial Downs racetrack in New Kent County.
The site is located at Battlefield Blvd and I-64. It’s easy to get to and easy to leave.
The potential Chesapeake site follows a Hampton groundbreaking on February 11 for another of the handful of Rosie’s locations.
There is a Rosie’s in Vinton, Richmond, New Kent County, Hampton, and possibly one in Chesapeake if approved by the Chesapeake Board of Zoning Appeals on March 28.
Two Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums are expected to open in April — at the New Kent track and in Vinton.
The Rosie’s will have about 700 slot-like historic horse racing gambling machines, and there will be satellite horse race wagering and a bar and restaurant.
“It’s important because of the jobs it will bring, the tax revenue that it will bring to the city of Chesapeake as well as Virginia. This will also be a new entertainment opportunity for consumers in and around Chesapeake.”
The project will bring 120 new jobs to Chesapeake and the one in Hampton will bring about 120 new jobs to the Peninsula.
“It’s an entertainment center and there will be a combination of historical horse racing machines, which are the new entertainment games where you can place wagers, potentially win jackpots that is based on previously run horse races that play like a regular video machine,” Hubbard adds.
Hubbard says in order to reopen Colonial Downs, they need a revenue source. “Everyone in Virginia is excited about bringing thoroughbred racing back to the Commonwealth. Colonial Downs has been shuttered for last several years, we will be racing again in August.”
As for the Chesapeake site, “This location is very accessible. It is easy to get in and out. It will attract a lot of people, and will generate a lot of revenues, and we are very pleased to work with the City of Chesapeake and other stake holders in the community,” Hubbard says.
The location is also expected to bring in more than 2,500 customers a day.