Mr. Mayor and Honorable Members of City Council:

I do not habitually offer “trailers” of my intended presentations to public bodies, but the gravity of the decisions surrounding the establishment of a casino in Portsmouth dictates this deviation from my normal practices. Those of you with longer tenure on council should be aware that I have opposed the casino at every stage of the process. Now that we are about to finalize the transfer of property from public ownership to private in preparation for facility construction, you should not be surprised that I would still have issues with the undertaking.

The outcome of the referendum last November did convince me, however, that this project is all but inevitable. With that acknowledgment, I want to focus on the best placement of the casino for the future growth and vitality of Portsmouth. I strongly disagree with putting it on what I consider our highest potential undeveloped tract of land in the city, an area that I believe would be far more valuable as an innovation and tech incubator in the orbit of the Portsmouth Tidewater Community College campus. In terms of the gaming/entertainment zone concept, the logical positioning of the casino would be within sight of the Elizabeth River in our downtown area.

Leveraging the capital investment of the casino enterprise to transform the properties currently occupied by our civic center would be mutually advantageous to our citizens and the concessionaire. The public would avoid the expense of elevator and plumbing repairs to a city hall building that we have been wanting to replace for some time, and we would concurrently clear the old courts, public safety, and jail complex to make way for the casino. The Union Bank Pavilion could be rebranded as the Portsmouth Rivers Pavilion to host outdoor entertainment offerings. With the Portsmouth Renaissance Hotel undergoing a major makeover at this moment, it could offer lodgings for casino patrons interested in more than a day-trip experience. The former Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and Museum and the former furniture store across the street could be reconfigured to provide indoor music, drama, and dance venues as part of the entertainment zone offerings.

Existing amenities, including the Children’s Museum of Virginia, the Portsmouth Colored Community Library Museum, the Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum, the Lightship Portsmouth Museum, the Portsmouth Main Library, the historic homes of Olde Towne, the historic downtown business district, and our refurbished seawall all complement the entertainment zone and contribute to a sense of place. Nothing constructed in the Victory Village section of town can bring all these discrete elements together to a create a comparable “destination”. We need to recognize our strengths and capitalize on them in this next phase of our development. Putting our best foot forward, let’s move into the future.

Please let me know if you need additional information.

Yours truly,
Mark Geduldig-Yatrofsky