Opposition from Atlantic City to the Meadowlands Convention Center

The $3 billion convention center planned for the Meadowlands Sports Complex is claimed to generate $30.4 billion in economic benefits over the long term and to bring two million visitors a year to North Jersey. A preliminary assessment report, prepared over two years with state funding, was published by the Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce. The report was prepared by consultants working in the MICE sector and in tourism, architecture, engineering and finance.

The report's findings have caused unease in Atlantic City. According to officials, the convention center will be realized at the expense of the coastal city. The Sheraton Hotel at the Atlantic City Convention Center faces the risk of closure if state funding is not provided. Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson wrote to Governor Mikie Sherrill in September asking her to reconsider his support for the project. Levinson argued that the city is already struggling with three casinos approved in the New York region, and that it would not be right to support new competition within New Jersey with his own taxpayers' money.

Meadowlands officials responded sharply to these criticisms. Chamber of Commerce spokesperson Ron Simoncini said Atlantic City's decline stems from neglect, and that the city has no vision or economic revitalization plan beyond asking the state for help. Simoncini also objected to former Atlantic City mayor and council member Don Guardian's question about whether the Meadowlands could compete with Manhattan's Javits Center. Guardian had said that no organizer would want to hold its conference in New Jersey's asphalt-covered swamps.

According to the report, the convention center could host 313 events a year, generate more than $3 billion in annual state and local tax revenue, and support over 3,700 permanent jobs and nearly 5,000 construction positions. The analysis is based on roughly 460,000 square meters of exhibition and event space, a flexible 5,000-seat concert hall, a 1,000-room hotel, on-site multi-story parking, integrated transport infrastructure, and a 2,000-square-meter open-air event space called "Meadow Walk."