Fairfax Supervisors Reiterate Position On Tysons Casino

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is updating the letter they sent to legislators last January outlining their concerns about the Tysons casino referendum legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell is the chief patron of Senate Bill 982, which would give the supervisors the power to put a casino referendum on a ballot for Fairfax County residents to decide.

In January 2024, Board Chair Jeff McKay (D-At-Large) wrote a letter to legislative leaders in Richmond notifying them the board had not sought the authority to put a casino referendum on the ballot. His letter also noted that as the law stands, the state would receive the lion’s share of the tax revenue from a casino in Tysons.

During the Jan. 17 Legislative Committee meeting, Supervisor Walter Alcorn (D-Hunter Mill), who had visited Richmond on Jan. 15 with Supervisor Jimmy Bierman (D-Dranesville) to lobby legislators, reported the board’s position on the casino legislation was being misrepresented by members of the county’s own legislative delegation.

Patch first reported in September 2023 that Comstock Holding Companies wanted to build a casino somewhere in Fairfax County on Metro’s Silver Line outside the Capital Beltway. During the 2024 session of the Virginia General Assembly, Sen. Dave Marsden (D-Burke) added language to the bill narrowing the location to Tysons.

Related: Tysons Casino Bill Passes First Hurdle In VA Senate Subcommittee

“I've seen several statements from, in this case, at least two senators in Richmond who suggest that this is a way to prevent future real estate tax increases that have burdened our residents,” McKay said. “We need to make it clear that real estate tax increases, at least in the last couple of years, have been to overcome the state's negligence in funding public education.”

The board agreed that a new letter needed to be sent to Richmond to remind lawmakers that the county’s position has not changed in the past.

At the start of Friday’s legislative committee meeting, McKay notified the board that the new letter was still being worked on.

“I was hoping we’d make a couple minor tweaks to that letter, but I got mountains of stuff, not going to point to the people who provided me the mountains, but a lot of feedback from the board,” he said. “So we are still working on a draft of that. We're hoping to have it out on Monday.”

Also see:

• Tysons Casino Bill To Be Reviewed By VA Senators Jan. 20
• What To Know About Renewed Tysons Casino Plans
• Casino Backers Spent $1.5M On Political Contributions, Lobbying
• Tysons Casino Poses National Security Threat: Intelligence Experts
• 5K Union Jobs, Workforce Housing Among Benefits Of Casino: Union

Read all of Patch's reporting on the plan to build a casino on Metro's Silver Line in Fairfax County at Silver Line Casino.

This week, SB982 advanced through both the Gaming Subcommittee and the General Laws and Technology in the Virginia Senate. The bill’s next stop is at the Committee on Finance and Appropriations, which meets at 9 a.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Thursday meetings convene at 4:30 p.m upon the call of the chair.

As of Friday at 5 p.m., the docket for next Tuesday’s committee meeting hasn’t been finalized. If the bill progresses the same as last year’s bill, it will be assigned to the Resources subcommittee, which meets at 4:30 p.m. on Thursdays.