Ever since the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Authority was charged in 2011 with creating a new tourism district and overseeing the resort’s convention and tourism business, the authority has wanted to create a nonprofit organization to bring conventions to the city.
CRDA officials say that the organization, while still funded by CRDA, will be free of restrictive state laws.
But like many things in Atlantic City, actually making it happen has taken much longer than expected.
It took more than two years for the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority to merge with the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority as part of the 2011 Tourism District legislation. The ACCVA had been in charge of attracting convention business.
Now, CRDA’s wants to create a new non-profit organization to handle convention sales. Last week the authority’s board finally authorized the group’s creation and gave approval for a partnership agreement between the entities.
“We’ve struggled long and hard to get this thing together,” CRDA Vice Chairman Robert Mulcahy said, adding that the entity’s creation has been in the works for several months. “We’re looking for significant improvement.”
CRDA officials says its convention sales staff has been hampered by state regulations. Meanwhile, the city’s convention sales have declined.
The new organization will be funded by Atlantic City’s luxury tax levied at 3 percent on the sale of alcoholic beverages and 9 percent on other retail sales. Its initial budget is expected to be $8 million.
