Pamunkey tribe working to buy land for casino near Harbor Park in Norfolk

NORFOLK -- The Pamunkey Indian Tribe is in negotiations with the city to purchase land around Harbor Park and eventually build the state's first casino.

Jay Smith, spokesman for the tribe and its financial backer Jon Yarbrough, said the real estate developer hopes to buy approximately 20 acres between the baseball park and the Amtrak Station.

The casino would be on the same scale as facilities the tribe had discussed before now: a $700 million property with a $200 million payroll that Smith says would generate an economic impact for the state of well over $1 billion.

"After looking at other cities, they chose Norfolk," Mayor Kenny Alexander said in a statement Wednesday. "The tribe's decision validates Norfolk as an emerging destination for tourism in the mid-Atlantic, and the center for entertainment in Hampton Roads."

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