Atlantic City’s Ocean Resort Offers Miss America a Home

The Miss America Organization is exploring moving the yearly pageant to either a new venue in Atlantic City or another city. The owner of Atlantic City’s Ocean Resort casino, Bruce Deifek (l.), has offered to start negotiations to host the pageant as the organization looks for a new sponsorship deal. The pageant’s deal with the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority ended this year.

Atlantic City’s Ocean Resort Offers Miss America a Home

The Miss America Organization’s deal with the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority ended with this year’s contest and the pageant is now looking for a new home.

According to the Press of Atlantic City, the organization filed a request for proposal filed in September that said it is interviewing cities to host the next two years of the competition. The pageant is also exploring moving the pageant from Boardwalk Hall to other venues in the city, according to emails obtained by the paper.

Enter Ocean Resort Casino owner Bruce Deifik who said he spoke with Miss America chairwoman Gretchen Carlson about offering hotel space and the casino’s Ovation Hall to the pageant.

“I need to know how many rooms they need, for how many nights, when they would need Ovation Hall—it’s the perfect setup for them. I would be happy to look at that if I have all the facts,” Deifik told the Press.

Ovation Hall has a 5,700-seat capacity. The request for proposal said the performance venue must contain a minimum of 3,000 seats with more than 5,000 preferred.

“We want to make sure that the group and the convention will really, absolutely help the growth and expansion of our small market,” Deifik said.

Deifik said Carlson did bring up the $4.325 million previously provided by the authority for the production, but said Ocean Resort would not be able to match that.

According to the request for proposal as outlined by the Press, the pageant requires that a host city provide hotel accommodations, venues for parties and receptions, adequate space for a parade and a performance venue for the three nights of preliminary competition and the televised final.

CRDA has been Miss America’s main sponsor since 2012 and subsidized the pageant $7.3 million over three years and then agreed to a $12 million contract, providing an annual $4.3 million under a three-year contract that expired after this year’s competition, the Press reported.