The NYC Aqueduct in Queens currently houses a racino and with plans for a convention center. Regardless of whether NYS legalizes complete casinos, plans to expand the facilities at the Aqueduct will include the largest convention center in the country. Meanwhile, there also plans to build a second convention center or exhibition hall in Willets Point.
Last month, Examiner reported about the NYC Aqueduct convention center planned with gambling expansion possibilities. Governor Andrew Cuomo expressed the racino operator, Genting, was seeking expansion even if NYC did not legalize casinos. Cuomo stated, “We will make New York the number one convention site in the nation.”
During his second State of the State address, Cuomo called for the Aqueduct racetrack in Queens to be converted into a convention center complete with a Vegas-style casino.
Genting America Senior Vice President, Christian Goode, said, “It's a great time to invest and grow in New York, and we are thrilled to be able to play a role in creating jobs and increasing tourism”
The plan during phase one of the convention center is to build 2.6 million square feet. They want to build 3,000 hotel rooms, an exhibition center, a convention center. The second phase would be to add more gaming machines to the racino facility. There are currently 496 electronic gaming tables and 4,504 video slot machines at Aqueduct.
The New York Post just reported an expanded racino at Aqueduct would raise the projected payout to about $700 million. This is over double the state's annual take from the gambling hall at the racetrack.
The legislature has to approve the expansion of Aqueduct racino. The earliest public vote on a casino amendment would happen in 2012. The second phase of the expansion may rely on casinos being legalized in New York. If the $4 billion convention center at Aqueduct was permitted, it could allow NYC to open up development of the site at the Jacob K. Javits Center on the West Side.
NYC has over 50 million visitors annually, making it the top tourist destination in the nation. However, New York City is still not equipped to accommodate the hundreds of conventioneers who could bring in millions of dollars.
According to a Crain's New York Business analysis, a market such as NYC could use over four times the amount of exhibit space currently available at the Javits Center in Manhattan.
When attorney Timothy Lowry of DLA Piper spoke to Examiner about full casino gambling in NYC, he said, “Public programs feed from the revenue. There is economic traction for businesses and gambling creates jobs, including construction jobs.”
The convention center planned for the Aqueduct in Queens would accommodate conventions that would bring in major revenues in hotel, retail, restaurant and more. Building the center would also create jobs in NYC while boosting tourism.
Recently the New York Times reported there might be a second convention center planned in Queens in Willets Point. In December, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg broke ground for sewer mains and storm drains. The city also made statements about a convention center to help create “New York's next great neighborhood.”
The Queens Chamber of Commerce indicated the conference center or exhibition hall would only be a single feature of their overall plan. Jack Friedman, the executive director of the chamber, stated, “Willets Point right now looks like something in a third world nation, and if we're going to be able to maximize economic opportunities it's going to require full redevelopment.”
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