Residents and leaders of Bristol, Tennessee are among those awaiting the outcome of a Virginia referendum that could bring a proposed Hard Rock hotel and casino resort to the Twin City.
Bristol, Virginia residents are actively casting early ballots for the Nov. 3 casino referendum — made possible by that state’s General Assembly — which could bring the proposed $400 million investment to the vacant Bristol Mall near Interstate 81’s Exit 1 in Virginia.
The rear corner of the mall property lies a few hundred feet from the Tennessee border and the completed complex is forecast to attract up to 4 million annual visitors — but Tennesseans have no voice in the process.
At this point, Bristol, Tennessee leaders are taking a wait-and-see approach.
“We’ve been monitoring this, but as far as having any open dialogue, we have not done anything like that yet,” Bristol Tennessee Mayor Mahlon Luttrell said last week. “We want to see if it’s going to occur. We would need to look at everything that could impact Bristol, Tennessee. We haven’t done any detailed plans yet.”
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The casino concept was initiated more than two years ago by local Virginia businessmen Jim McGlothlin and Clyde Stacy after efforts to market the mall as an industrial site proved unsuccessful. Last year, they chose Hard Rock International to be their operational partner. Bristol is one of four Virginia cities voting on casino referendums this fall.
In an email response to questions, the casino group said it has received a warm response from Tennessee.
“As a destination-scale resort, we are excited about the project’s benefits for Bristol and the surrounding communities. We’ve heard positive feedback from folks on the Tennessee side,” the group wrote. “This includes small business owners who have joined the local ‘small business’ coalition to support the project. Residents in adjoining localities, including those in Tennessee, understand that a destination-scale resort will have a ripple effect throughout the entire region, in terms of jobs and tax revenue. This strong support also is visible by the numerous campaign signs at homes and businesses throughout Bristol, Tennessee.”
A 2018 Chmura Economics and Analytics study forecast that a fully built out Hard Rock Hotel and Casino resort would attract 4 million people annually, with 80% — 3.2 million — coming from outside this area. Four million equates to an average of 10,958 more people every day of the year driving on city streets, staying in hotels and eating in restaurants, primarily in two cities with a combined population of about 44,000.
“We will work hard to be a good neighbor in the community,” the casino group said when asked about this potential impact. “The good news is that mall was planned for a significant number of visitors. Obviously, prior to the economic downturn in our area, local infrastructure was built to accommodate more people, thus underutilized capacity remains. While we see the project as a sign of progress and growth, we also will make every effort to minimize any disruptions. If an increase in local traffic means more visitors spending money in our shops and restaurants in Bristol, on both sides, then we will welcome that change.”
The project is also forecast to generate millions of dollars in new tax revenues for the city of Bristol, Virginia and disburse gaming tax revenues to Virginia localities as far away as Bland, Buchanan, Grayson and Lee counties — under terms of the legislation.
No gaming tax or other Virginia revenues would be shared with Bristol, Tennessee. The city does stand to reap additional sales and lodging tax revenues directly from resort visitors plus the rollover effect of additional jobs puts extra buying power into the marketplace.
Bristol Tennessee’s City Council hasn’t formally taken a position on the project, but the mayor is optimistic it would be a boon.
“Obviously, it [casino] could bring a lot of good to the community,” Luttrell said. “Casinos can have other issues, but I’m sure Mr. McGlothlin will do everything in his power to make it a first-class operation.”
“The biggest thing is the timeline of how things would take shape,” Luttrell said. “We don’t know that. We would need to look at that and see if we need some additional resources. Right now, we just don’t know what the timeline is. Hopefully, the parent organization will invite us to sit down and give us more details once the vote is over.”
If voters approve the casino Nov. 3, the Virginia Lottery Board must finalize all of its regulations. Once that is complete, Hard Rock would apply for a gaming license and the state has up to 12 months to review and approve. If approved, they hope to open a temporary casino in the mall’s former Belk building by late 2021.
Adding jobs
A 2019 Innovation Group study — performed for the Virginia Joint Legislative Audit Review Commission — forecasts that a Bristol casino with a 400-room hotel would employ more than 1,200 people, but that doesn’t include all aspects of the proposed project. A 2018 Chmura Economics and Analytics study forecasts total Bristol casino resort employment could top 5,000 by 2027.
Casino developers plan to hire about 2,000 people. On Saturday, Hard Rock International and the Bristol Chamber of Commerce held two events at the mall to begin that process. The first was an information session to attract potential vendors, so local businesses could learn more about the kinds of products and services needed and how to become a preferred provider of services, including food and beverage, construction, maintenance and transportation. The second was a jobs information session to inform people about the types of jobs that would be available, training opportunities and how to apply. Those include food and beverage workers, hotel, gaming operations, guest and support services.
“To fill over 2,000 new jobs, we will need to recruit employees with a broad range of skills, in Bristol and across the entire region,” the casino group wrote. “We anticipate that our workforce will come from a number of localities, on both sides of the border. Beyond the direct benefits of jobs and tax revenue, surrounding communities will benefit in other ways. The resort will be a catalyst for local businesses in Bristol and across the region to open or expand, to support the significant growth in our tourism and hospitality eco-system.”
Business support
The Bristol Chamber of Commerce — whose members include businesses on both sides the state line and across the region — is a staunch advocate.
“We have, from the beginning, put our support behind this project, even before it was a Hard Rock partnership,” chamber President and CEO Beth Rhinehart said.
“The chambers in the region, the business partners we have all across the region, have been very excited and supportive knowing this would have a far-reaching impact. Here on the Tennessee side, we haven’t had folks coming to us saying they don’t think this is a good thing,” Rhinehart said. “There has been a very positive majority of folks we’ve spoken with who understand the impact of it and knowing that impact isn’t going to stop at the state line.”
Hard Rock International brings international name recognition with a music and entertainment focus that dovetails nicely with Bristol’s country music heritage and positive core corporate values to the effort, Rhinehart said.
“The Hard Rock brand is a powerful global tourism draw and a perfect complement to our rich music history,” the casino group wrote. “Once here, visitors will be introduced to Bristol and the region. These visitors will enjoy the resort and also spend their tourism dollars in our local shops and restaurants in Bristol and in neighboring communities. We plan to offer shuttles to State Street and will market opportunities for our guests to enjoy the region’s outdoor beauty and explore our many wonderful entertainment, recreational and cultural amenities. This includes businesses and attractions throughout the Tri-Cities, in both Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee.”
Rhinehart said the chamber appreciates plans to integrate the project into the community.
“He [McGlothlin] wants it to be a partner to everything else here. He doesn’t want it to be people flying in or driving in, going to the casino, staying at the hotel and never leaving that property — then packing up and going home,” she said. “Those are a lot of dollars coming into our community from outside. That is important. It’s the whole goal of tourism that you’re generating revenue from people outside your community so it relieves the tax burden on residents who live here.”
A Hard Rock-branded facility could also open Bristol and the region up to visitors who previously hadn’t come here and expose them to existing assets, including Bristol Motor Speedway, the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival, the Birthplace of Country Music Museum and its events, outdoor recreation and the Twin City’s downtown, Rhinehart said.
“We feel very strongly that partnership and the way it is being designed intentionally is very critical to maintaining a balanced approach to supporting all of Bristol,” she said, adding that casino guests could offset current swings in hotel occupancy.
“In smaller communities where the draw is around specific events like the races, we see our peaks on race weekends, on Rhythm & Roots weekend, Battle at Bristol; things that have shown us great peaks,” Rhinehart said. “Those average out over the year to profitability for our hoteliers, but we want the occupancy rate to increase year-round. We don’t want just peaks and valleys.”
To that end, Rhinehart said Discover Bristol would need to play a greater role. The agency is the convention and visitor’s bureau division of the chamber and — in recent years — the city councils on both sides of town have wrestled with how best to fund it.
“Hard Rock will do a fantastic job with their marketing for their resort casino destination. In order to make sure everything else has that same level of attraction and promotion — now more than ever — Discover Bristol needs to be funded so that happens,” she said. “The casino will bring a lot of attention to us so we have to make sure people — when they see Bristol — they see all of the great things that are here to come and experience.”
Airport impact
A substantial influx of visitors could also impact Tri-Cities Airport in Blountville, Tennessee, where officials are also anxiously awaiting the outcome of the vote. Airport Executive Director Gene Cossey said last week that a crystal ball would be helpful, but both the casino and the entertainment it proposes to present could impact local air travel.
“Anytime you see an increase in demand you see the potential for growth at the airport. That could be additional charter flights, that could be growth in one of the airlines or it could be a new airline entrant into the market,” Cossey said. “All those things are potentially going to happen if the casino comes in and is successful in the things they say they want to do — bringing in multiple performance venues, concerts on a year-round basis — could be good for increasing demand.”
Hard Rock International has outlined plans for a 2,500-seat indoor performance area that could open up to a 20,000-seat outdoor performance area along the side of the former mall where Piccadilly Cafeteria formerly operated.
“We anticipate it will increase demand and we anticipate an increase in some form of air travel,” Cossey said. “My hope is it’s enough demand that we see American and Delta increasing the number of seats or we see Allegiant adding destinations or adding frequency. That will all be dependent on the amount of demand that it increases.”
Beyond concerts and gaming, Cossey said visitors may also want to return and spend more time in this area.
“We have a beautiful area and I think tourism and travel here could grow tremendously,” he said. “From the airport’s point of view, we’re optimistic and hopeful that demand will increase and grow, which will, in turn, motivate the airlines to increase the number of seats they bring in and out of here and the number of destinations they go to.”
Rhinehart, of the Bristol chamber, predicted this could also spur additional economic development.
“Having more accessibility to locations and destinations is a key driver for recruiting business,” she said. “We’ve focused a lot on the economic impact of what this project will do. It will be the spur of so many other good things that will be critical to supporting a lot of other good things in our community.”