2011 Was a Pivotal Year for Atlantic City and Region

CASINOS

By Jeff Schwachter

Add Comment | Comments: 3 | Posted Dec. 23, 2011

ATLANTIC CITY — The year 2011 was quite an eventful one for Atlantic City and the region, with several wheels set in motion with hopes that a cleaner, safer and more attractive-to-developers-and-tourists Atlantic City will take shape when the smoke clears in 2012.

Some of the major changes during 2011 included the restart of construction on the Revel project, with a 2012 opening date slated. (Some predict it may open as soon as mid-March, but May 2012 is still the officially stated planned debut of the mega resort.)

In other major developments, the Steel Pier was purchased from Trump Entertainment Resorts, with plans by its new owners to expand the family amusement park on the Boardwalk and bring back some of the magic of the famed pier's past.

Also, word that a Hard Rock Casino — with a possible rock 'n' roll museum inside — would be coming to Atlantic City's Boardwalk was also announced, as were plans for more open-air festivals at Bader Field, following the success of the city's experiment with the promoters Starr Hill, who brought the three-day and ultra successful Dave Matthews Band Caravan to the city's former airfield in June.

In a regional shift, and one due to the still lackluster economy, New Jersey's long-time local TV and radio station, NJN, was dismantled by order of the governor, and Philadelphia's WHYY and New York's WNET took over different stations and channels formerly operated by NJN.

This change has meant less local coverage on local NPR radio stations and the former NJN TV stations with people in different parts of the states either receiving their "local" news from Philly's WHYY or New York's WNET.

An outcome of the media shift has led to more South Jersey and Atlantic City coverage on WHYY and its Newsworks.rg Web site, but a great deal less localized public broadcast coverage overall.

In a story Thursday, Dec. 22, on Newsworks.org,, former NJN newsman Phil Gregory writes a report on Atlantic City's "revival," quoting New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as saying the following on the Revel resort.

"It is an extraordinary facility, and it is going to draw tens of thousands of people to Atlantic City just to see it. When they get there, I hope that they're going to find — and I trust what they're going to find — is a cleaner and a safer Atlantic City because of what we've done with the tourism district and the policing."

Christie also notes in the report that he hopes other casinos in town will be inspired to reinvest in their respective properties, and that new marketing efforts by the 2011-created Atlantic City Alliance, will also help attract more visitors to town.

"More and more people are going to be hearing about Atlantic City because of the partnership between the casinos and the government and the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority [CRDA] in order to market and advertise it," the governor said. "It's significantly more money than was otherwise going to regulatory issues and supporting horse racing."

Read: 'Locals to CRDA. What About Us?'

One of the biggest moves in 2011 regarding Atlantic City came when the CRDA contracted some of the top firms in the country to devise a master plan for the state-run tourism district, another 2011 endeavor to boost the local economy and survive with gaming competition what it is now in neighboring states.

The state's master plan for the Atlantic City tourism district is due Feb. 1.

Happy New Year, Atlantic City.