The push for a massive convention center in the Meadowlands is already reviving one of New Jersey’s oldest regional rivalries.
As North Jersey leaders celebrate progress on the long-discussed project, officials in South Jersey argue it would benefit one region at the expense of the other.
The fight traces back to 1976, when New Jersey voters approved casino gambling but restricted it to Atlantic City. Since then, regional leaders have repeatedly fought proposals for competing developments elsewhere in the state.
Weeks before Meadowlands officials met to advance the $3 billion proposal, South Jersey leaders urged state officials to reject any convention center plans outside Atlantic City, warning the project could devastate the resort city’s tourism and convention industry. Instead, the state should help renovate and expand Atlantic City’s existing convention center, they said.
“It is critically important that the state does not compete with itself as it relates to gaming or as it relates to conventions,” state Sen. Vince Polistina said at a recent press conference about Atlantic City’s economic future.
For Atlantic City, the stakes extend beyond convention business. At its peak in 2006, the city’s casinos generated roughly $5.2 billion in annual gaming revenue. By 2025, traditional casino revenue from slot machines and table games had fallen to about $2.9 billion, overtaken by the rise of online gambling.
Conventions and non-gambling tourism have become an increasingly important part of Atlantic City’s economy. In 2025, the city hosted 205 meetings, conventions and trade shows, drawing more than 533,000 attendees and generating an estimated $362.3 million in economic impact, according to Visit Atlantic City.
The Atlantic City Convention Center contains nearly 500,000 contiguous square feet of event space. The facility is owned by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) and operated by Oak View Group, which also manages Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.
Mo Butler, chairman of the CRDA, said his focus is on “ensuring that the Atlantic City Convention Center remains a world-class facility.” “In partnership with the State, we’ve invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the facility, and we will continue making the investments necessary to attract convention business from across the country,” he said.
Major events at the Convention Center include the upcoming New Jersey State League of Municipalities conference, the New Jersey Education Association convention and the Triple Play Realtor Convention & Trade Expo. Protecting that business is a major reason officials oppose a Meadowlands convention center.
“There’s no way that we can afford to have a casino or a convention center outside of Atlantic City,” said Assemblyman Don Guardian, who was Atlantic City mayor from 2014 to 2017. “It makes no sense for the state because the amount of money that they’re going to gain by having those properties in North Jersey is going to come from South Jersey.”
Dennis Levinson, who has served as Atlantic County Executive for 26 years, has long argued that the state reaps the benefits of Atlantic City’s gaming industry without investing enough in the resort’s long-term success. He points to the Meadowlands proposal and a recent $75 million tax-credit award for improvements to Asbury Park’s convention center as examples of the state investing in convention facilities elsewhere rather than strengthening Atlantic City’s existing convention business.
“We can’t get Wi-Fi at our convention center; we’ve got a convention hotel across the street that’s falling apart,” Levinson said recently. “Yet the state is going to pump $75 million more in the Asbury Park Convention Center.”
Danielle Norcross, president of the Greater Atlantic City Chamber, said debates over convention centers and gaming facilities affect an entire regional economy.
“The potential impact of expanded gaming and convention facilities in North Jersey is not limited to Atlantic City casinos,” she said at the recent press conference. “It extends to the small and mid-sized businesses, suppliers, contractors, restaurants and service providers whose success is connected to the economic health of Atlantic City and the surrounding region.”
Supporters of the Meadowlands proposal, however, see an opportunity to capture convention business from New York City. They envision a 460,000-square-foot convention center, including a 300,000-square-foot event space, and a 1,000-room hotel. They estimate it would draw 2 million visitors a year, support more than 3,700 permanent jobs and generate $30.4 billion in long-term economic activity.
Whether the project captures business from New York or diverts events from Atlantic City remains at the center of the debate.
