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New Jersey Senate and Assembly committees overseeing gambling and tourism will hold a joint hearing at 3 p.m. Nov. 18 at the Atlantic City Convention Center to discuss its future and that of the Sheraton hotel across the street.
According to The Press of Atlantic City, the hearing comes as the Sheraton’s owners threaten to close the hotel without a state tax break and North Jersey groups pursue a competing convention center.
Meadowlands proposals add pressure on Atlantic City
Business groups and North Jersey lawmakers support a proposed $4 billion convention center at the Meadowlands sports complex in East Rutherford. The Meadowlands group is seeking as much as $3.8 million from the state to complete feasibility studies.
The proposal adds to the pressures facing Atlantic City’s convention center. Bergen County lawmakers have also renewed an effort to amend the New Jersey Constitution to allow casinos outside Atlantic City. The current proposal calls for casinos at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport.
The Atlantic County Economic Alliance said competition from North Jersey and New York City could cost Atlantic City 8,100 jobs and nearly $1.3 billion in revenue. Those figures are the alliance’s estimates of potential losses.
Sheraton faces December closure deadline
The owners of the Sheraton Atlantic City Convention Center Hotel say it will close Dec. 15 unless the state approves a tax break.
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority did not vote on the hotel’s grant application at its November meeting. The legislative hearing will examine the hotel and convention center’s significance to Atlantic City and the surrounding region.
The authority’s next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 16, one day after the hotel’s stated shutdown deadline.
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Source: As reported by The Press of Atlantic City.
