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Portsmouth city council eyes new location for casino and ‘entertainment district’

The land sits near I-264 and Victory Boulevard, near the Portsmouth campus of Tidewater Community College.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Portsmouth City Council wants to turn the former site of Victory Village into a new entertainment district, the center of which would be the city’s long-awaited casino.

The vacant land sits near I-264 and Victory Boulevard, near the Portsmouth campus of Tidewater Community College.

“It’s been council’s goal to be a destination and this helps make that a reality,” Portsmouth Mayor John Rowe said. “We’re literally creating another downtown in that part of Portsmouth.”

City Council originally planned to build the casino at the waterfront.

City Councilmember Elizabeth Psimas said council decided this location was a better fit, given the larger size and location right next to a highway. 

“In a casino, you don’t have windows and it’s really a waste to put a casino on the waterfront,” she said. 

Portsmouth economic development director Robert Moore said the idea is to turn the new site into an entertainment district with the casino as the centerpiece. 

“You would have the restaurants, you would have the performance venue, but on the outside, you still have additional retail and food and beverage as well as a potential cinema,” Moore said. 

He explained plans are still in the beginning stages. Council hasn’t picked a developer and lawmakers are still looking at legislation to allow casino gaming. 

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