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A renewed push to authorize a casino in Tysons advanced in Richmond on Jan. 23, reviving a proposal that failed in a House of Delegates committee last year and remains fiercely opposed by Fairfax County leaders and residents.

The Virginia Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology’s gaming subcommittee voted 5-3 to advance Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell’s legislation. The measure now heads to the full committee, which will decide whether to recommend it to the Senate.

Surovell’s SB 756 would add Fairfax County to the list of Virginia localities eligible to host a casino. He said the legislation is identical to the bill he introduced during the General Assembly’s 2025 session.

Under its restrictions, a Fairfax casino could be built only as part of a mixed-use development in Tysons. The site would have to be outside the Capital Beltway and within a quarter-mile of a Silver Line Metro station.

State Sen. Adam Ebbin questioned why the proposal singles out Tysons instead of allowing Fairfax County to consider other locations.

Surovell said Virginia has an interest in encouraging development along the Silver Line because the state helped fund Metro’s expansion into the corridor. He also argued that a casino must be far enough from MGM National Harbor, located across the Potomac River in Maryland, to remain viable.

“We’ve invested about $6 billion in the Silver Line, and that was a state decision to make that investment,” Surovell said. “We invested exactly for this kind of development. If this project is going to maximize revenue to both the state and the county, that’s where it has to be.”

He contended that Virginia is missing revenue that could support schools and Fairfax County’s budget, as well as related economic opportunities. He cited the Sphere entertainment venue recently proposed for National Harbor as an example.

Surovell also argued that Tysons “is not thriving,” pointing to Booz Allen Hamilton’s planned headquarters move to Reston and Fairfax County’s expected budget deficit.

“All the development there has stalled. Commercial office buildings are half empty,” he said. “Fairfax County’s commercial property tax is cratering. Their office buildings are selling at 30 percent of their tax assessed value.”

Tysons’ overall office vacancy rate has remained near 20% for more than a year, although leasing activity increased during the third quarter of 2025, according to Tysons Community Alliance data. Commercial construction has been limited, but several residential projects are underway, including two affordable housing developments and a condominium project.

Fairfax County and residents push back

The bill would not authorize construction by itself. Fairfax County voters would first have to approve a casino through a referendum.

In December, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors formally opposed legislation permitting a casino within the county unless the board requests it.

Jennifer Van Ee, Fairfax County’s legislative director, told the subcommittee that county officials object to the bill because it could weaken local land-use authority and because of the proposed division of state and local revenue.

The Tysons Stakeholders Alliance, a coalition of residents, workers and other community members, said the subcommittee vote was rushed through with less than 24 hours’ notice.

“We are deeply disappointed that this bill advanced today,” alliance President Paula Martino said. “The Tysons community remains united in its opposition, and we will continue to make our voices heard in the weeks ahead as legislators debate a bill that has no business being in the General Assembly this session.”

Opposition has expanded since a possible Tysons casino was first raised in 2024. Vienna Mayor Linda Colbert, who has repeatedly traveled to Richmond to oppose the proposal, said she hears from hundreds of residents concerned about issues ranging from safety to the diversion of money from charitable gaming.

“Towns, cities and counties in Virginia like to do what is best for their area, for their residents,” Colbert said. “Fairfax County did not ask permission to build a casino. We do not want it.”

Jennifer Falcone, representing the Great Falls Citizens Association through the No Fairfax Casino Coalition, urged senators to hold the bill indefinitely until the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission studies the casino’s potential economic effects.

McLean Citizens Association representative Linda Walsh said nearby businesses worry that a casino would not fit the surrounding community or serve employees who live in the area.

Labor groups highlight jobs and referendum

Union representatives supported the legislation, citing agreements intended to protect organized labor during construction and once the casino begins operating.

Mike Hachey, a policy director for Unite Here, said workers hired by the casino would have a fair and neutral opportunity to decide whether to unionize. He characterized the project as a chance to create thousands of better-paying jobs for Northern Virginians struggling with housing and other basic expenses.

Virginia Diamond, president of the Northern Virginia Labor Federation, said working-class Fairfax County residents deserve the opportunity to decide the issue through a referendum.

Comstock Companies has previously outlined a casino-centered development that could also feature a performing arts venue, hotel, convention center, housing and retail. Surovell told the subcommittee that multiple sites in Tysons could satisfy the bill’s location requirements.