1. What is the cost of construction associated with a new Convention Center at the Meadowlands complex.

a. The level of investment based on convention center industry information and standards is approximately $1.6B in 2023 dollars.

2. What are the sources of funding for the Convention Center construction costs.

a. There are four prospective sources of bond issuance.

i. New Jersey Economic Development Authority

ii. Bergen County Improvement Authority

iii. New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority

iv. New Jersey State Department of Treasury

b. Other State and Federal sources of funding will be investigated.

3. How would the bonds associated with the construction of the convention center be repaid?

a. Bonds would be repaid via the following sources:

i. Convention Center direct rental revenue and indirect revenue from associated economic activity.

ii. Income and payroll taxes from employees

iii. Hotel and other destination-related taxes from new and existing properties

4. Is there market demand for a new Convention Center?

a. The Market Analysis prepared by Hunden Strategic Partners identified a need for an additional 2 million square feet of meeting, conference and event space in the greater NY NJ Metropolitan region; and, of the 13 sub-regional markets, the Meadowlands was the most attractive area to locate a new facility.

5. What impact will a convention center have on the other assets on the Meadowlands Sports Complex site?

a. Each of the other facilities on the site would benefit from a convention center:

i. Large scale events at MetLife stadium that require fan-experience venues could be accommodated at the convention center rather than exporting fans to out of state locations taking their discretionary dollars with them. This facility would enhance our ability to attract the world’s largest events such as WWE and Super Bowl in the future.  

ii. American Dream would provide the “walkability” value that is essential for convention center success in today’s market.

iii. Attendees to association trade shows and business conferences are prospective customers to the Meadowlands Racetrack and FanDuel Sportsbook.

iv. In addition to on-site activation, Meadowlands area downtowns would benefit from a convention center, as visitors will seek a local experience and patronize main street stores and restaurants.

6. What types of events would the Convention Center accommodate?

a. The facility would be designed to be flexible and adaptable to accommodate a full range of events including youth and amateur sports, meetings and conferences, E-sports, and large convocation and banquet functions.

7. Would the new convention center compete against existing arenas and convention centers such as Prudential in Newark, and Javits in NYC?

a. Arenas are designed for large performance and sporting events to accommodate 10,000 or more spectators. The types of sporting events and performances to be accommodated by the new convention center are targeted at active attendees and even those that are performance-related are not large enough to be hosted by facilities such as the Prudential Center Arena.

b. 83% of convention center events in the US occur in space less than 400,000 square feet. The design concept for the new convention center would accommodate those events. The Javits Center after its recent expansion has a total of 3.3 million sq ft of space and targets a different sized show audience.

8. Would the new Convention Center be accessible to the region’s transportation infrastructure?

a. The new convention center would be accessible from the existing highway network and transit system. Improvements to the transit system to the complex are under study by NJT, including new direct bus rapid transit (BRT) service and expand scheduling of the existing rail capacity.

b. The site has ample unused parking supply which would be augmented by the construction of a deck beneath the new convention center.

c. An on-site people-mover or other circulation system has been imagined to create connectivity, linking all facilities on the Meadowlands Sports Complex site. 

9. Who would operate and market a new convention center?

a. Most convention centers are managed and operated by professional facility management companies that are experienced in operating large event-driven facilities.

b. Typically, there are marketing and tourism organizations who recruit, develop and coordinate convention center business.

10. Who would design and construct the new convention center?

a. Similar to other large infrastructure projects regularly pursued under state authority, a competitive process would be established to select firms to plan, design and construct the new convention center.

11. What is the timeframe for the new convention center? What would be the first year of operation?

a. The expected first year of operation is 2028, with the initial year of construction beginning in 2026.

b. This construction schedule provides ample time for planning, design and engineering functions as well as to accommodate current on-site needs for the World Cup in 2026.