Silver Line Casino Opposition Joined By McLean Citizens Association

MCLEAN, VA — McLean Citizen's Association joined other community groups on Tuesday in expressing its opposition to any legislation introduced in the Virginia General Assembly that would allow developers to build a casino in Fairfax County.

"The McLean Citizens Association has recently become aware of intentions to introduce legislation in the upcoming session of the Virginia Assembly that would amend the Code of Virginia, Title 58.1 Chapter 41 in a way that would allow a gaming casino to operate in Fairfax County," MCA president Linda Walsh said, in a letter to the county's delegation in Richmond.

Walsh noted that one of the sites being proposed as a possible location for a casino is in Tysons, a majority of which lies within her organization's general membership area.

"Since the bill has not yet been submitted in the Assembly, MCA is not able to comment on it in detail at this time," she said, in the letter. "However, many members of MCA are concerned about this initiative. Accordingly, the MCA Board has voted to express its opposition to legislation that would allow a gaming casino in Fairfax County."

Walsh told Patch on Tuesday that MCA decided to send the letter because the possibility of a casino being built in Fairfax County — and possibly Tysons — was of great concern for the McLean community.

"They seem to be concerned about having built Tysons to be an economic center," she said. "We've been very successful getting major headquarters there. It just doesn't seem that using that land, which is an economic center, fits with the overall plan for Fairfax County."

MCA joins the Reston Association, the Reston Citizens Association, and the Vienna Town Council, who have all expressed their opposition to the legislation expected to be introduced in the general assembly when the 2024 session begins on Wednesday. As of 3 p.m. on Tuesday, 4,698 people signed an online petition at Change.org, voicing their opposition to a casino being built in Reston.

Patch first reported in September that developer Comstock Holding Companies was planning to build a casino at or near the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station in Reston.

The idea of putting a casino near one of the seven Silver Line Metro Stations outside the Capital Beltway first came to light a year ago, when state Sen. Dave Marsden (D-Burke) and Del. Wren Williams (R-Stuart) introduced nearly identical bills that, if passed, would've given the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors the authority to put a casino referendum on a future ballot.

Marsden has told Patch multiple times over the last few months that he planned to introduce an expanded version of his 2023 bill that would include a concert venue and convention center anchored by a casino. His preference was for building the casino in Tysons rather than Reston Station.

"The Silver Line was created for high density development and business owners paid a tax to build the Dulles Access Road and the Silver Line," Marsden told Patch in November. "They paid to have that done and if we can put in a conference center in an entertainment district, anchored by a casino and some hotels, it creates a tremendous number of construction jobs, good union jobs, to work in those hotels."

So far, Marsden has not introduced his new bill. Lawmakers have until Jan. 19 to file their bills, before the start of crossover, when the two houses vote on the other's legislation.
Related:

• 'Kill Casino Bill In Committee' Reston Activists Tell State Lawmaker
• Casino Opposition Plan Outlined By Reston Association CEO
• Opinion: Casino Will Bring More Crime And Taxes To Reston, Tysons
• Casino Developer Hires 6 Lobbyists; $529K Donated To VA Candidates

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