The New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Authority has approved a three-year deal to keep the Miss American Pageant in Atlantic City.
The deal increases the authority’s subsidies for the pageant’s production to $11.25 million, up from $7.3 million in the previous three-year-deal that expired after the pageant aired in September. CRDA would also pay the Miss America Organization an additional $325,000 for other production expenses and $311,000 for final settlement expenses, bringing the total deal to about $11.9 million.
In exchange, Dick Clark Productions, which oversaw marketing of the 2016 pageant agreed to promote Atlantic City during its other productions, including “The Billboard Music Awards” and “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” according to the Press of Atlantic City.
The pageant would also promote Atlantic City in press conferences, press releases, the Miss America website, promotional materials and during the telecast, the report said.
According to the Press, the authority did not approve the deal unanimously with those voting against the contract included Mark Giannantonio, CEO of Resort Casino Hotel and Howard Kyle, Atlantic County chief of staff.
During negotiations over the new contract, some critics of the plan wondered if the authority’s money could be better spent bringing higher profile acts than the pageant to the city.
Late last year the pageant announced a new three-year deal with ABC that will keep the pageant on network television through September 2018. The 2016 pageant—held in September 2015—had an estimated audience of about 7 million.
Authority officials in favor of the deal pointed to the pageant’s potential to drive tourism and interest in Atlantic City. CRDA funds come from casino reinvestment tax credits paid by the city’s casinos. The pageant, however, does have a cost to the financially struggling casino resort with the Press reporting that the city spent about $65,000 for security at the pageant in 2015.
In another matter, the authority announced it had reached an agreement with Atlantic City to fund additional Class II police officers in the city’s tourism district.
While they are not full-time, the Class II officers attend the Atlantic County Police Academy and receive training that is required by the New Jersey Police Training Commission, according to the authority.
Along with that training, they will also be instructed on Tourism District Awareness and Customer Service Delivery, an element not normally included in the mandated Law Enforcement Certification for Class II officers, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
To help pay for the initiative, the CRDA will provide up to $1 million for training, labor, equipment, body cameras, bullet resistant vests, uniforms and communications equipment for 30 officers, the Press reported.
