Tysons Casino Dominates Discussion At Vienna Town Hall Meeting

VIENNA, VA — As if to acknowledge the elephant in the room, state Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim (D-37th) and Del. Holly Seibold (D-12th) spent the first 20-30 minutes of Saturday morning's town hall meeting in Vienna answering questions about the possibility of a casino being built in Tysons.

Salim told the audience, some of whom were wearing red "No Tysons Casino" T-shirts, that he'd heard nothing about the proposed casino before or after the Nov. 7 election. It wasn't until Sen. Dave Marsden (D-Burke) submitted Senate Bill 675 on Jan. 17 that he knew anything about it.

"Not to call out any of our colleagues or anything, a lot of us were not aware of the bill's language until it was dropped," he said. "Regardless of all that, I continue to oppose the casino."

One audience member spoke about the 2019 JLARC study, which looked at what the potential impact of the general assembly authorizing casinos for Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Richmond.

The study included a scenario in which a casino would be built somewhere in Northern Virginia, but it did not examine in any depth what effect building a casino in Tysons would do.

Supervisor Walter Alcorn (D-Hunter Mill), who was at Saturday's meeting, represents Vienna and the corner of Tysons north of Chain Bridge Road and west of Leesburg Pike. He told the audience that the county already approved an extensive development plan for the abandoned Exclusive Automotive Group lot at 8546 Leesburg Pike.

Related:

• Tysons Casino Bill's Fate Decided In VA Senate
• 'Kill Casino Bill,' Hundreds Call On Lawmakers To Oppose SB 675
• Tysons Casino Bill May Still Be Alive In VA Legislature: Lawmakers
• Tysons Casino Bill On Hold After Subcommittee Vote; Opponents React

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.

"The Tysons' Comprehensive Plan has been in effect for almost 14 years now, and it really does chart a long-term, ambitious mixed-use development," he said. "Really a place where not just residents like you all would want to live, but also Fortune 500 companies, accounting companies."

Alcorn thanked a member of the audience for mentioning the substitution costs and the negative impact a casino would have on Tysons' already successful business environment.

"The Fairfax County Government, we put millions of dollars into the Tysons Partnership, now the Tysons Community Alliance," he said. "Much of that money was spent on developing the Tysons brand, regionally and nationally and globally. This really threatens that. That investment is at risk with at least the location of a casino there."

Since no companion bill was submitted to the Virginia House of Delegates, Seibold wasn't tracking the senate bill until she heard that it was held over to 2025 and assigned to the Joint Legislative Audit & Review Commission for further study.

"I thought it was over," she said. "Sending it to JLARC doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to continue. I just want to put your minds at ease. We send everything to JLARC."

Seibold and Salim represent the area on Leesburg Pike/Route 7 in Tysons where Marsden said developer Comstock Holding Companies was planning to build a casino if it was allowed to do so.

Both lawmakers told the audience that the number of letters they'd received opposing the casino vastly outnumbered those voicing support for the legislation. Seibold received zero emails favorable of the project compared to the five Salim said he'd received.

"I think only Senator Morrison is one of the few people that are supporting it," she said. "We'll keep we'll keep our eye on it. But I'm feeling good that it's over. That's my opinion, at least."

Salim credited the pushback from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, the Town of Vienna and community members for letting the state senators Richmond know that they didn't support Marsden's bill.