A casino developer gave $75,000 to the city of Roanoke in its pursuit of a casino and entertainment district — but the city isn’t saying what the money’s for.

Roanoke received the payment Jan. 27, according to a financial transaction the city provided after an open records request by The Roanoke Rambler. 

A city spokesperson declined to answer a question about the money’s purpose, citing non-disclosure agreements signed by numerous city officials, from council members to legal staff to economic development employees. The city is also not identifying the name of the casino developer, citing the NDA.

The city had agreed to pay a lobbying firm — the Richmond-based Two Capitols Consulting — $6,000 a month to secure casino approval from state lawmakers. That’s according to a contract that started Sept. 22, 2025, according to documents received by The Rambler in a December records request. The contract does not specify an end date.

The $75,000 from the casino operator will not be used to pay the lobbying contract, according to city spokesperson Carol Corbin.

City officials, at an October event including Mayor Joe Cobb, City Manager Valmarie Turner and Economic Development Director Marc Nelson, announced the plan to remake the Berglund Center into an entertainment district.

The city needs state legislative approval to move forward with the casino piece of its proposal — and Cobb said last week that is not likely during this year’s General Assembly session. Every member of the region’s legislative delegation is against the casino idea at present.

The city, though, is ramping up its longer-term effort to sway the public that a redevelopment of its Berglund Center is a must. If the state legislature were to greenlight Roanoke’s casino project, city voters would then need to approve it, through Virginia’s established process.

In a commentary on the matter sent to The Rambler by the city Tuesday, Cobb said he’s talked to people for and against the casino.

“Think about what makes Roanoke special and explore with me private/public investment opportunities that could transform the Berglund Center into an Entertainment District,” he wrote.  “Transformative ideas are always met with a mix of enthusiasm and trepidation. Let’s continue to be a City, and region, that says yes to exploring ideas. Saying no doesn’t get us anywhere.”

Last spring, a private investor approached the city about locating a casino at Berglund, which would include $30 million in needed upgrades to the facility, and an additional $300 million investment by the developer for the casino and additional amenities, Cobb wrote.

And last week, a new Roanoke Entertainment District Focus Group had its first meeting, with 19 people participating, from business owners to neighborhood leaders. Its charge is to help the city forge a decision on what to do.

City Councilman Phazhon Nash, who led the group’s formation, said during the initial meeting that the city faces a trying time with fiscal challenges, and it’s obvious the civic center, “once a crown jewel, has become an Achilles’ heel.”

The city is subsidizing the civic center, now more than 50 years old, by millions of dollars a year, both for operations and maintenance, including a budgeted $2.5 million in 2025-26. 

Another issue is whether Berglund Automotive will continue to pay for the civic center naming rights. Berglund signed a $1.75 million, 10-year deal in 2014. Its naming rights contract — which was extended after the pandemic — ended Nov. 30, according to city documents provided to The Rambler last year. 

The company’s owner, William Farrell, is a member of the new focus group. The naming rights did not come up during the meeting last week, and Farrell has not responded to numerous messages left for him by The Rambler in recent months.

The city declined last week to release any information about what’s happened with Berglund’s naming rights since Nov. 30, citing ongoing negotiations.

City officials also did not immediately respond to a question about what the Two Capitols lobbying firm will be doing, assuming there is no legislative consideration of the casino this year. Its contract does say it will provide a report at the end of the General Assembly session about any new laws that “might impact the city of Roanoke’s special economic development project.”