A New Jersey redevelopment agency approved an $11.9 million deal Tuesday to keep the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City for the next three years.
That’s $4 million more than the previous three-year deal as the seaside gambling resort teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, the state threatens to seize control of its finances, and some of its eight casinos hang on by a thread.
The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority approved the contract with the Miss America Organization and Dick Clark Productions to keep the pageant on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, where it began back in 1921. The agency collects state-mandated casino payments and approves them for redevelopment projects designed to improve the city.
The CRDA will make the payment toward the pageant’s production costs. In addition to the national exposure the pageant’s post-Labor Day finale generates, Atlantic City will also be prominently promoted during Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve and the Billboard Music Awards broadcasts over the next three years.
Source: www.phillyvoice.com
