Petersburg has already started interviewing developers as the Cockade City’s prospects for replacing Richmond as a host city for an upscale casino-resort appear to be gaining momentum.

A consultant the city has hired is interviewing and vetting prospects and is to bring recommendations to the City Council to consider should the General Assembly authorize Petersburg to host a casino, the Free Press has learned.

The council would choose the winner and then send a proposal to the voters for approval in November 2023.

Petersburg Mayor Sam Parham, without confirming or denying the information, said Monday, “We want to be ready to go if the General Assembly makes Petersburg the choice. There won’t be much time to get a proposal on the ballot, so we can’t dawdle.”

He believes that voters in majority-black Petersburg are generally excited about the prospect and will overwhelmingly approve the project at the polls.

It also has been learned that Urban One, whose Richmond city-endorsed plan to develop a $565 million casino-resort on property adjacent to an I-95 exit in South Side was narrowly defeated last November, has not made the list of companies to be interviewed.

Meanwhile, two insiders told the Free Press this week that a group that the General Assembly charged with determining whether the small city with a population of 32,000 could support such an operation will issue a favorable report.

The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) is expected to issue the report sometime next month, one of the sources said.

“Petersburg meets or exceeds all of the metrics that are being used to make that determination,” said another source who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Projected revenue is expected to be only slightly below what a Richmond casino was anticipated to created.”

Petersburg began the push to gain the casino on Nov. 4, 2021, one day after Richmond voters narrowly turned down the Urban One plan at the polls.

According to three sources, Mayor Levar M. Stoney was notified of Petersburg’s plan, raised no objections and was even encouraging.

His private conversations corresponded with the public statement he issued a day after the casino referendum failed that read in part: “From the beginning, we said the people would decide. They have spoken, and we must respect their decision.

“I am proud of the transparent and public process we went through to listen to our residents and put this opportunity before our voters. ... Rest assured, this administration will not be deterred from its ongoing mission to bring other economic development opportunities to our city that will benefit the lives of all who live here.”

According to the sources, Mayor Stoney in private conversations was telling people he was not inclined to push for a repeat referendum in 2022.

One source told the Free Press that the mayor indicated he had weighed the option and believed the risk of back-to-back defeats was too great.

Given advance notice of the Free Press reporting, Mayor Stoney did not respond directly, but instead responded through his press secretary, Jim Nolan.

“The mayor’s position following the 2021 referendum has always been clear — that Richmond would keep its options open,” Mr. Nolan wrote in an email to the Free Press.

“This story, enabled by unnamed and unattributed sources, is just another publicity stunt by Sen. Morrissey to influence the upcoming JLARC study and press his case to disadvantage the residents of Richmond, whom he used to represent.”

Mr. Nolan’s statement confirms that the mayor shifted gears and became supportive of a second referendum after members of City Council, notably 8th District Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell, began pushing legislation to hold a second vote.

The mayor jumped on the bandwagon, according to Mr. Nolan, after a majority of the council requested “the administration pursue this course and owed in no small part to Ms. Trammell’s dogged determination to bring the jobs and development to her community.”

The mayor also pushed for support in the legislature to block Petersburg from replacing Richmond as the Central Virginia host city for a casino.

It almost worked, as committees in the House and Senate rejected a bill to make Petersburg a casino city in place of Richmond.

However, Petersburg’s supporters were able to gain language in the state budget allowing for the JLARC study.

The budget language also created a block to Richmond holding a repeat referendum this year.

At the city’s request, the Richmond Circuit Court has rescinded an order to put the referendum on the November ballot. The city took the action, according to Mayor Stoney, based on a request from Urban One.

The city as well as the leadership of Urban One has vowed to have a second casino referendum in 2023 to try to gain a favorable vote.

At this point, the state casino law still includes Richmond as one of the five Virginia cities eligible for a casino.

State Sen. Joseph D. Morrissey, who currently represents both Richmond and Petersburg, had backed the Richmond casino prior to the vote, but has become a key supporter of Petersburg’s push to gain the casino.

He has said he would again introduce legislation to add Petersburg and remove Richmond from the list of approved localities where casinos can locate. The other cities include Norfolk, Portsmouth, Danville and Bristol.

Should the legislation pass, that would put an end to any need for a Richmond referendum in 2023.

Mr. Nolan stated on behalf of the mayor that the “Stoney administration will steadfastly oppose any legislative attempt to deny economic opportunity to our residents.”