CODEY STATEMENT ON EXECUTIVE ORDER ON SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

TRENTON – Senator Richard J. Codey, D-Essex, a long-time proponent of the State’s horse racing industry and sponsor of the legislation authorizing casinos in Atlantic City in the 1970s, issued the following statement regarding Governor Christie’s executive order issued today to create a panel of industry experts to fix New Jersey’s ailing sports, gaming and entertainment industries:

“I applaud the Governor for taking this first necessary step to ensure the future viability of New Jersey’s sports, gaming and entertainment industries.

“Whether it’s the Meadowlands Sports Complex, the Prudential Center in Newark, the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, Monmouth Park and other horse racing tracks around the State, or Atlantic City’s casino industry, combined, these facilities generate billions of dollars in economic activity for the State of New Jersey. We have to identify an economic strategy that keeps these entertainment locations fresh and competitive against new gaming opportunities in neighboring states.

Senator Gerald Cardinale, senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he was appalled, but not surprised that lame-duck Governor Jon Corzine's nominee for a seat on the New Jersey Sports Authority didn't bother to prepare for serious questions during his confirmation hearing. Cardinale said he was just as shocked by reports that the candidate, Middlesex County Sheriff Joseph Spicuzzo, admitted he sought advice on his confirmation from a convicted felon, former Democrat Senator John Lynch.

Jon Corzine's Meadowlands Commission is asleep at the switch if its members can't keep a steady flow of financing to a $2 billion project like Xanadu. What good is state oversight if unnecessary delays keep costing New Jersey residents jobs and tax money?

Bergen County GOP Chairman Robert Yudin says he can't understand why Democrats would pick Bergen County Freeholder James Carroll to launch attacks on GOP gubernatorial candidate Christopher Christie.  After Christie visited Bergen County yesterday to link Gov. Jon Corzine to recent unemployment numbers, the Democratic State Committee released a statement from Carroll saying that Christie has never created new jobs.

 "The only jobs Jim Carroll has created and is trying to create are the government jobs he created for himself and his family at the Bergen County Utilities Authority," Yudin said.  "Carroll has excelled only at using taxpayer money to give big paydays to his political supporters, such as PMK Associates - which so far has been paid $6.7 million for the Overpeck Park boondoggle that is now costing taxpayers more than $70 million and counting."

Yudin suggests that if Carroll is truly interested in creating jobs, he can "explain what happened to the 20,000 jobs that were supposed to be created at Xanadu and the $100 million in yearly sales tax revenue that was supposed to be generated by the mega-mall that Mr. Carroll and the all-Democratic Bergen County Freeholder Board strongly backed."

"So far Xanadu has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and all they have to show for it is an empty building and a taxpayer subsidized train service for an empty mall," said Yudin. "Carroll is the same freeholder who has been silent about the EnCap boondoggle in the Meadowlands that is now under federal investigation, because the state refused to investigate the failings of its own project."

Senator Kevin O'Toole asks why Governor Corzine seems to be  concerned only about horse racing when the state's entire sports entertainment industry is in trouble. 

“Coming on the heels of last month’s announcement that Xanadu will again delay its opening to some time in 2010, I think the problems at General Growth Properties are a warning for state and county officials to investigate the viability of this project before throwing any more public money at it,”

"We don’t want another EnCap on our hands, but that’s what it looks like we are going to get,”

“Given the history of Xanadu and its many financial difficulties, Mr. Rumana should have known better than to support legislation that leaves the taxpayers vulnerable to pay for a giant fish tank in the middle of meadowlands.”

            TRENTON – Senate President Richard J. Codey (D-Essex) today released the following statement on news of Xanadu’s opening being delayed due to a loan default by one of the project’s lenders:

            “This is the icing on the cake that flopped before you could get it out of the oven.  This would be a tremendous disappointment in any economic climate, but given the dire straits we’re in now, it’s a huge setback to a region that was relying heavily on the project for job creation and revenue.