Business View Civil & Municipal l November 2022

52 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 9 could be four, potentially five casinos in Virginia, but Bristol was ready to go with our partners, with Hard Rock and our local developers, to have that idea from the very beginning, and we were able to open up the doors first.” Located at 500 Gate City Highway, the former site of the Bristol Mall, the 30,000-square-foot casino houses 870 slot machines, 21 table games, and a Hard Rock Sportsbook offering wagering on all major sports. “The casino will be opening up in different phases over the next couple of years,” Farnum says. “So what we’re calling ‘the casino’ is really just a temporary aspect. It’s open 24/7, with a few different food options inside, but in two years—Summer of ’24—the permanent casino will open in a different space in the mall, including the hotel tower and more food and shopping venues.” Following that final development phase, 2,000 jobs could potentially be connected to the Hard Rock project. The casino’s location, off Exit 1 on Interstate 81, also makes it perfectly positioned to welcome new and returning visitors from all over the country. “If you go down to the casino parking lot on a busy night, you’ll see license plates from all over: North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, West Virginia,”