Roanoke City Councilman Phazhon Nash told members of a new initiative Tuesday night 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.”

“Casino or not, we have to have the conversation of what to do with the Berglund Center,” he added.

The Nash-led initiative — the Roanoke Entertainment District Focus Group — held an introductory meeting.

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. Nash pointed out that it’s also not attracting the level of entertainment it once offered.

City officials announced in October the plan to remake the Berglund Center into the entertainment district, including a casino.

The group is starting its work as Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, has filed a $600,000 request for state money to complete a downtown Roanoke study. That would include an assessment of the Berglund Center’s condition.

The focus group is scheduled to meet through May and represents what will likely be a longer-term strategy. That’s because prospects seem dim for state lawmakers approving a necessary casino license for Roanoke, since no area legislator, including Rasoul, support it. 

When asked Tuesday if he thinks the General Assembly could take the necessary action this year to move the city’s casino plan forward, Mayor Joe Cobb said, “probably not.”

A diverse group of nineteen people participated in the focus group Tuesday night, from business owners to nonprofit directors to neighborhood leaders to community advocates. Groups represented ranged from the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs hockey team that uses the civic center to the NAACP to performing arts groups to the owner of Berglund Automotive.

The group is charged with having an honest conversation to help the city decide what to do. Its discussions will include the urban renewal history of the civic center’s location, employment, economics, and any other potential impact of an entertainment district redevelopment. 

City officials that are part of the project talks have signed non-disclosure agreements — and the city has a blanket NDA with an unidentified casino operator. It also hired a Richmond-based lobbying firm the city is paying $6,000 a month to seek a casino license.

However, since the October announcement, opposition is dominating public reaction on moral grounds, concern over gambling addiction and the belief that a casino does not bring the projected community benefits.

Not one state legislator in the region is in favor of the Roanoke casino proposal. That led to questions about how the city could even get its request to a vote during this year’s General Assembly session.

The city needs the state legislature to put it on the list of eligible casino localities. Then, based on the state’s established process, the issue would be decided by Roanoke voters. 

Rasoul said Monday from Richmond that he’s not aware of any movement on the city’s proposal.

There is a bill, filed by Northern Virginia Sen. Scott Surovell, to add Fairfax County to the casino list. One possibility would be for Roanoke to be added to that bill. As it’s currently written, it is Fairfax County specific.

Neither Surovell, nor anyone with his staff, returned messages left for comment in recent days by The Roanoke Rambler.

A Roanoke City Council majority attended the October announcement at the Berglund Center and remains in support of the pursuit.  

At a time the city faces publicized money problems it hasn’t in years — its initial budget projection for 2026-27 shows an $18-million shortfall — it would get 6 percent of the first $100 million in gaming revenue generated annually, according to its reasons for the casino idea.

And there is another number, from state code, that gives an idea of what the city council majority is thinking. In order to get a casino license, an operating company must agree to spend $300 million. That’s about 75 percent of the city’s annual budget.

“That’s a huge investment,” Cobb said.

The state budget amendment filed by Rasoul would give Roanoke $600,000 for the study of its downtown, focusing on three places where change could or will be happening: the Berglund Center, the Science Museum of Western Virginia and Center in the Square.

The Berglund Center, with three buildings and a substantial surrounding site, needs a thorough assessment of its condition, with its main structure now over 50 years old, Rasoul said. The Science Museum asked for planning money to find a new location when it learned its Center in the Square lease would not be renewed, he said. And, because of that move and other changes, Center in the Square is considering its future, including the idea of a Ferris wheel on its roof. Center in the Square has said it sought $250,000 in state funds for a feasibility study.

When asked what he thinks of the Ferris wheel idea, Rasoul said he is appreciative of everyone “trying to improve Roanoke.”

Rasoul did agree that there’s a lot swirling in downtown and he said a study is a way to get to an end.

“If the public has clarity, it would help,” he said.