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A proposal that could open the door to a casino-anchored development in Tysons advanced again Tuesday morning, when the Virginia Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee voted 9-6 to send Senate Bill 982 to the full Senate.
The Senate could vote on the measure as soon as Thursday or Friday. If approved, SB 982 would move to the House of Delegates and, with House passage, could ultimately reach the governor.
The legislation would add Fairfax County to Virginia’s list of localities eligible to host casino gaming. Its geographic requirements identify Tysons—and a narrowly defined area within it—as the potential casino location.
A spokesperson for the chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors said the bill, as currently written, would allow the board to request that a casino referendum be placed on a future ballot or take no action.
Under Virginia law, a locality’s governing body petitions a court by resolution to hold a referendum. The court then directs local election officials to open the polls and ask voters whether casino gaming should be permitted.
Opposition follows bill through Richmond
The Finance and Appropriations Committee vote followed another step forward for the legislation. On Monday, Jan. 27, the Senate Gaming Subcommittee voted 5-2 to advance the bill despite a large turnout of opponents. Sen. Christopher Head, a Republican representing Alleghany County, described the opposition as stretching almost out the door.
Sen. Scott Surovell, a Fairfax Democrat, introduced SB 982. Members of No Fairfax Casino returned to Richmond for Tuesday’s committee meeting in another attempt to stop its progress.
Lynne Mulston, chair of No Fairfax Casino, said Jan. 26 that the campaign had more than 50,000 supporters and was continuing to grow. The coalition, organized as a special project of the nonprofit Reston Citizens Association, opposes a casino anywhere in Fairfax County.
Supporters argue that the project could produce billions of dollars in economic activity and substantial public revenue. Surovell said during the previous week’s gaming committee meeting that as much as $183 million could potentially go toward school construction.
Opponents dispute claims that a casino would strengthen county finances. In an Oct. 1, 2024, letter to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, retired U.S. Rep. Frank R. Wolf argued that casinos do not expand local economies or provide a durable answer to budget problems.
Wolf said inflation-adjusted casino tax revenue often levels off or declines after rising during the first several years. He also cited scholarly estimates placing the social costs associated with every dollar of casino tax revenue at between $3 and $12, including costs connected to crime and additional welfare payments.
He warned that a casino could disrupt families and alter Fairfax County, the Town of Vienna and nearby communities.
Bishop Michael Francis Burbidge of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington also addressed the proposal during an Oct. 7, 2024, podcast episode. He cautioned that gambling can become an addiction, potentially diverting household income away from families’ essential needs.
A major development envisioned near Metro
Comstock is pitching a casino-centered project at 8550 Leesburg Pike in Vienna, within one-eighth of a mile of the Spring Hill Metro station on the Silver Line.
The proposed Comstock/Wynn development could include a performing arts venue, convention center and 600-room hotel. Housing is also contemplated, with at least 20 percent of the units designated as affordable.
Early renderings show a building labeled “Encore” anchoring a development projected to encompass between 6 million and 8 million square feet.
The planned casino site is owned by Tysons Development LLC, a partnership involving Clemente Development Co. and a Saudi businessman. The partnership had previously envisioned five buildings totaling 3 million square feet there.
Land ownership could complicate the casino proposal. Comstock and its partners own two parcels within the larger area envisioned for the development, but they do not control the entire planned site.
Earlier Tysons project collapsed before construction
The property at 8550 Leesburg Pike has been targeted for major development before.
In 2017, Clemente Development proposed a project known as The View, designed by Gensler with Tysons Development LLC serving as the applicant. Its original centerpiece was a tower rising more than 600 feet, which would have been Virginia’s tallest building.
The proposal encountered resistance from residents, including members of the McLean Citizens Association. The developer eventually reduced the office tower to 455 feet, cut a planned 500-seat theater to a 199-seat black box venue and made other revisions.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the scaled-down plan, but Comstock canceled The View in 2020 near the end of the county’s lengthy review process. Zoning approval was still required, though construction had been expected to begin within months.
Comstock also withdrew from a separate downtown redevelopment in Herndon. On Dec. 6, 2024, Comstock Herndon Venture LC notified the town that it would not proceed with construction.
The original agreement dated to 2017 and had been amended several times to extend the deadline for starting work, but construction never began. Del. Irene Shin, a Democrat representing the 8th District and a Herndon resident, wrote on Dec. 10, 2024, that Comstock had failed to fulfill its part of the agreement and said she assumed the land would have to be returned to the town.