Last month, Rockingham County Board of Commissioners found themselves the target of a lawsuit challenging the legality of their decision to rezone nearly 193 acres of land for a prospective casino resort. Rockingham County, located just south of the North Carolina and Virginia border, is embroiled in a controversy as a sprawling commercial project stands on disputed terrain. Some local residents are of the belief that a casino, which most did not desire, was the end goal of this rezoning request.
In August, the commissioners unanimously greenlighted a commercial project on the 192.7-acre plot just north of Carefree Lane along US 220. The requesting party was NC Development Holdings, a subsidiary of The Cordish Companies; a Baltimore-based entity recognized for operating three casinos in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
After the go-ahead on the rezoning request, speculation arose that Phil Berger, North Carolina Senate President Pro Tempore, was rallying support to authorize casinos in Rockingham, Anson, and Nash counties. Evidently, Berger intended to pass a gaming provision into the state’s 2023-25 budget bill, earmarking casino development opportunities specifically for NC Development Holdings.
However, despite NC Development Holdings’ connections to Berger and other Republican lawmakers, strong criticism from local county officials and community members of the targeted counties led to both Republican and Democratic lawmakers declining to support the push for commercial casino gambling in the Tar Heel State.
Responding to the uproar, a group of Rockingham citizens collectively pursued a lawsuit against the county. They argued that the commissioners had glossed over “basic legal requirements” whilst rezoning designated “residential/agricultural” land to commercial. Leading the lawsuit were the owners of Camp Carefree, a nonprofit devoted to providing free summer camps to disabled children and children with chronic illnesses. Crucially, the rezoned area bordered Camp Carefree’s territory.
The plaintiffs accused the Rockingham commissioners of misconduct and collusion with Cordish in imposing a Las Vegas-style casino upon the community. In response, however, the commissioners maintained their belief in the lawsuit’s lack of merit and predicted its eventual dismissal by a judge. To justify their decision, they pointed to the fact that the disputed property had been marked as a prospective growth area for some time.
Despite the dispute, Berger’s casino plan, which was intended to keep gaming revenues within the state rather than seeping into Virginia, fell through due to inadequate backing. Yet, Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore are set to revive their casino push next year.
Meanwhile, online sports betting, authorized by the state lawmakers earlier this year, is set to kick start next year. The North Carolina State Lottery Commission is putting the finishing touches on its regulations for the expanded gaming.
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