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Fairfax County voters are one step closer to deciding whether to bring a gaming and entertainment complex to Tysons Corner after the Virginia Senate approved legislation on Tuesday.
The bill, which passed 24-16, would allow the county to hold a local referendum on casino development — if it clears the House and wins Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s approval. But not everyone is on board. Several Northern Virginia lawmakers raised concerns about traffic congestion, national security risks, and the potential impact on local communities.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, led the push for Senate Bill 982, which would add Fairfax County to the list of Virginia localities eligible to develop a casino. He argued that the project would bring economic opportunity and create “a lot” of jobs while keeping gaming revenue within Virginia instead of losing it to neighboring states.
“When I read the paper about how much money Maryland was going to suck out of our commonwealth to pay for their schools — in both Maryland and [Prince George’s] County, I thought it was offensive, and I thought that we need to do something,” Surovell said Tuesday.
A study cited by Surovell estimates the casino could generate $1.2 billion in revenue, bringing $232 million per year to Virginia — funding that could go toward school construction, totaling nearly $2.5 billion in over a decade.
If approved, the legislation would impose strict location requirements for the casino. It would need to be within a quarter-mile of an existing Metrorail Silver Line station, part of a mixed-use development of at least 1.5 million square feet, and within two miles of a major regional mall. It would also have to be outside of the Interstate 495 Beltway.
Some Fairfax lawmakers are standing firm against the proposed Tysons Corner casino, arguing that it lacks community support and is not the right fit for the county’s future.
Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, criticized Surovell’s measure for targeting a specific location without broader local input. She argued that past casino proposals in Virginia had the backing of the communities they would impact most.
“This is not the case here,” she said.
Boysko added that if lawmakers were serious about generating new revenue, they should have left out language dictating the casino’s location and allowed local officials to decide where, if anywhere, it should be built.
“This is not the way we should be creating public land use, that belongs with the local government,” she said. “If people want to wedge this in without looking at how it’s going to affect Colonial Downs or Rosie’s or the other gaming areas in the county in the state, I think this is a poorly planned proposal.”
Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim, D-Fairfax, also opposed the bill, arguing that Tysons Corner, one of the wealthiest and fastest growing areas in Northern Virginia, wasn’t dependent on a casino to thrive.
“Fairfax has never needed a casino. [In] all of these major development efforts, no one proposed or demanded a casino. Why? Because Fairfax County invests in sustainable, forward-thinking development, not a quick fix like casino gambling,” Salim said.
Despite opposition from some members of the Fairfax delegation, others say the county must find new ways to generate revenue.
Sen. Dave Marsden, D-Fairfax, and Sen. Stella Pekarsky, D-Fairfax, supported the legislation, warning that without new funding sources, Fairfax County could face cuts to essential services.
“We need Fairfax County to be a place of appeals to young people, not just the older population we have now,” Marsden said. “Unfortunately, some of them don’t want to see change, but if you don’t change, if you don’t grow, if you don’t develop, if you don’t look into the future, things aren’t going to go up.”
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