Roanoke’s Entertainment District Focus Group is finished with discussions that started in January — prompted by a goal to have a fair and thorough assessment of the Berglund Center’s future, with or without a casino.
The group, which thinned out over the course of the process, did not come to any conclusions as to whether it is pro- or anti-casino.
Either way, a decision on the civic center’s future is at a “critical point” with $10 million in pressing repairs and improvements needed, City Manager Valmarie Turner said during a city council meeting Monday night.
Councilman Phazhon Nash, who led the focus group effort, said in an interview Tuesday that of the group’s 23 members, only nine or 10 participated from start to finish.
At Monday’s meeting, Nash said the focus group “was a good first baby step toward us being transparent and accountable with our citizens.” The group did not make recommendations for the city council.
A total of 11 focus group members participated in a survey after their last of six meetings. That showed mixed reactions, but mostly neutrality on an entertainment district with a casino, according to a presentation on the effort during the meeting.
The city introduced the idea of a casino as part of an entertainment district in October, in an effort to generate revenue for the city and the aging Berglund Center, which needs over $30 million in identified repairs. The catch is that a casino would require approval from Virginia’s legislature and from Roanoke, via a majority vote in a local referendum. All of the region’s legislators have spoken only against the casino thus far.
At the start of the focus group, which included stakeholders from different facets of the city, 56% of 16 participants in an initial survey cited neutral reactions to the concept of an entertainment district, with the rest split evenly between positive and negative reactions, according to the presentation.
Of the 11 who participated in the post-group survey, about one third said they still felt neutral about the proposal — with or without a casino.
Val Brown, executive director of the Greater Williamson Road Business Association and a focus group participant, said she likes the idea of an entertainment district, but that she felt during the group sessions that the city was trying to get people on board with a casino.
“It seemed like it didn’t matter what [members of the focus group] were saying, the powers at be wanted it a certain way and were hoping to sway people in that way, and it didn’t go right,” Brown said Tuesday.
She said she worries that because of competition from the Caesars casino in Danville, most of the patrons to a casino in Roanoke could be locals, which would cause Roanokers to spend their dollars at the casino instead of at local businesses, like those lining Williamson Road.
She also noted that the group was not made aware of the over $30 million in work needed at the Berglund Center until the last session and said she wishes they could have spent their time brainstorming ways to come up with the money instead.
Nash said Tuesday that the point was not to “manufacture consent artificial support” for the casino, and that he thinks the focus group went “extremely well.”
Nash said he plans to give the council about a month to look over the findings from the focus group before the council regroups, though there are no concrete plans at this time for further discussions among council and the city manager.
$10 million in repairs urgent, city says
Robyn Schon, general manager of the Berglund Center, said Monday that she’s “not sure how fiscal year 2027 is going to turn out” for the Berglund Center.
“We have a lot of concerns with safety items, and those are at the top of our list and we’re addressing those in a number of ways,” she said. Schon added that an off-Broadway show last season had to stop mid-performance because the fire alarm went off and could not be turned off until the fire department showed up. She said the fire department has to come to handle the alarm system about once per month.
The center still uses the original air handler system from the 1970s and high-pressure sodium lights in the parking lot, Schon said.
Turner said during the meeting that the city is at a “critical mass” with the Berglund Center and the over $30 million that is needed in repairs, on top of the $1.5 million the city takes out in debt to subsidize the center annually.
“We need to make some very hard decisions really soon.” Turner said that includes fixing a dysfunctional fire suppression system and replacing air handlers and boilers, which places the city “at risk” while the center is still operating.
Schon said that about $10 million in investment now could “knock out a lot of the stuff that is keeping us awake at night.”
Nash said the city would have to spend that money at a loss because it’s more than the center would bring in in revenues.
This also includes a $3.6 million roof replacement that is underway at the center now, financed by existing bonds.
The owner of the casino would be required to invest at least $300 million into the Berglund Center, which is written in the state code. That owner would also purchase the special events center. Marc Nelson, economic development director for the city, said Monday evening that 800 to 1,000 jobs could be created from a casino, with an average salary of $55,000.
The casino, according to a presentation from Monday night, would take up less than 10% of the whole entertainment district — the rest of it could include an on-site hotel, a parking garage, restaurants and public gathering areas, Nelson said.
The city estimates a potential for $15 million to $25 million in annual revenue from a casino. Roanoke’s community engagement team did not answer on Tuesday where that estimate came from.
When asked if he can see an entertainment district without the casino being doable, Nash said Tuesday, “Anything is doable. Roanoke is a potential-filled city and whatever we decide to do will work out for the best if we take our time and be deliberate.” Nash said at this time, he’s not pro- or anti-casino but wants “whatever is best for the city.”
Cardinal News reached out to four other members of the focus group on Tuesday. One did not want to speak on the record, and the other three did not respond.
There was discussion Monday night over whether any further discussion about the focus group and the Berglund Center’s future needs to wait until Gov. Abigail Spanberger decides whether to create a gaming commission or not.
Nash said things aren’t stalled because “that would say we’re only thinking about doing a casino, and that’s not the case.”
