Gaming and Leisure to acquire land, hard costs for Live! Casino and Hotel

Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLPI) announced that it agreed to acquire the real estate in Petersburg, Virginia, the future site for Live! Casino and Hotel Virginia, a joint venture of affiliates of The Cordish Companies and Bruce Smith Enterprise. In addition, GLPI committed to fund the hard costs associated with the development of the destination casino and hotel project. The cap rate on both the $27M land purchase and the $440M hard cost funding is 8% and will be accretive to GLPI’s operating results. Closing of the transaction is subject to usual and customary closing conditions, including receipt of licenses and any approvals by the Virginia Lottery Commission. GLPI intends to fund the $27M land purchase in the first quarter of 2026, with the remaining $440M of committed financing anticipated to be drawn beginning in the second half of 2026 and continuing through the first quarter of 2028, post the Live! Virginia Group’s equity funding. During the construction phase, Cordish will pay rent on the GLPI funding, as drawn. After the first anniversary of the opening of the permanent casino project, rent will escalate at a rate of 1.75% per annum. Live! Virginia is located just off I-95, less than 25 miles south of Richmond, Virginia. The approximately $600M project will sit within a large 98-acre site and serve as the centerpiece of a broader $1.4B planned development, expected to include additional hotels, retail, dining, entertainment, and residential features. The permanent facility is expected to open in late 2027 and will feature an 80,000 square foot casino with 1,440 slots and 84 tables, over 10 food and beverage outlets, 200 hotel rooms, a 70,000 sq. ft. conference and event center, a 3,200-seat concert venue, and an array of other amenities. A temporary casino facility at the site is scheduled for a late January 2026 opening, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals.