Trump Taj Mahal, targeting
completion by summer
2018. With famed Springsteen tribute band the
B Street Band (See
Zoom In, page 44.)
warming up the
press conference,
also on hand was E
Street Band guitarist
Steven Van Zandt,
who intends to bring
bands to Atlantic City via
his rock radio show Little
Steven’s Underground Garage.
Live entertainment figures prominently in the destination’s strategy for
product diversification. Cavernous 14,770-
seat Boardwalk Hall, from 1929, ranks
among the world’s top grossing midsize
multipurpose venues, with event space
that includes the 3,200-seat Adrian Phillips
Ballroom. The venue welcomes legendary
rockers The Who next month.
Set to rock the entire summer is
Tropicana Casino & Resort. With its daily
Multimedia Light & Sound Show dazzling
revelers on the Boardwalk, accompanied
by free Saturday night fireworks shows
from May to September, the property’s
diverse entertainment hot spots include
the 2,000-seat Broadway-style Showroom,
Tango’s Lounge and Ivan Kane’s Kiss Kiss
Nightclub.
Star-studded events are also calling
at Resorts Hotel Casino, where venues
include the classic 1,700-seat Superstar
Theatre and indoor-outdoor Margaritaville
casino and entertainment complex, featuring Atlantic City’s only year-round beach
bar and programmable outdoor space.
Atlantic City options extend from the
Circus Maximus Theater at Caesars Atlantic
City to Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, where
along with its brand-new 18,000-square-
foot Central Conference Center, group ven-
ues include the 30,000-square-foot Event
Center, 1,000-seat The Music Box
theater and 18,000-square-
foot Premier Nightclub, as
well as the Borgata Beer
Garden.
An hour south
of Atlantic City,
the ocean-facing,
260,000-square-foot
Wildwoods Con-
vention Center can
host 10,000 people for
concerts, such as this
October’s Fabulous ’50s &
Beyond Celebration.
Big Tickets
Like New Jerseyans, the state’s larger-scale
facilities rock with the best of them.
At MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands,
home of the NFL’s New York Jets and New
York Giants, wide-ranging group programs
include guided tours and on-field banquets, with diverse gathering spaces ranging from VIP meeting rooms to the visitors’
locker rooms. The 82,500-seat stadium is
also for mega-concerts, Springsteen and
Bon Jovi again among them.
Opened in 2007, the multipurpose,
19,000-seat Prudential Center in downtown Newark is home ice for the NHL’s
New Jersey Devils and concert stage for
acts like Sir Paul McCartney, playing here
for the first time ever this September. Fall
2017 also sees the debut of the arena’s
interactive GRAMMY Museum Experience. Versatile event spaces at “The Rock”
include the arena floor; main concourse,
with NYC views through its 75-foot windows; and adjacent 17,000-square-foot
practice facility.
Turning 20 this year, the New Jersey
Performing Arts Center, also in Newark,
hosts events ranging from intimate dinners
to corporate meetings in the 2,850-seat
Prudential Hall.
Outside of Newark in the suburban Oranges (birthplace of Dionne Warwick and
Grammy-winning R&B star Lauryn Hill),
the multipurpose South Orange Performing Arts Center offers its 439-seat theater
and 325-capacity Loft for events. In West
Orange, the Oskar Schindler Performing
Arts Center also hosts private events.
Just over the George Washington Bridge
in Englewood (where Tony Bennett and
Stevie Wonder once lived), the versatile
Bergen Performing Arts Center offers its
1,367-seat main auditorium and more
intimate cabaret, lounge and gallery spaces
for meetings and events.
In central Jersey, with its own Garden
State Parkway exit, PNC Bank Arts Center,
turning 50 next year, is a fan favorite for
headliner concerts from May to September.
Seating 17,500 with lawn space for another
10,500 guests, the venue offers pre-show
party space for groups of 20-plus.
MULTIMEDIA LIGHT & SOUND SHOW, TROPICANA
CASINO & RESORT, ATLANTIC CITY
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RT
JEFFHEILMAN
JON BON JOVI
CAPE MAY COUNTY
DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM
609.465.1000
www.thejerseycape.com
CENTRAL NEW JERSEY CVB
732.745.8090
www.gocentraljersey.com
GREATER NEWARK CVB
973.735.2135
www.newarkhappening.com
GREATER WILDWOODS
TOURISM IMPROVEMENT &
DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
609.729.9000
www.wildwoodsnj.com
MEADOWLANDS LIBERTY CVB
201.939.0707
www.mlcvb.com
MEET AC
609.449.7117
www.meetac.com
MONMOUTH COUNTY
DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM
732.431.7310
tourism.visitmonmouth.com
NEW JERSEY DIVISION OF
TRAVEL AND TOURISM
609.599.6540
www.visitnj.org
N.J. HIGHLANDS COALITION
973.588.7190
www.njhighlandscoalition.org
OCEAN COUNTY TOURISM
732.929.2000
www.oceancountytourism.com
PRINCETON REGIONAL CVB
609.924.1776
www.visitprinceton.org
SOMERSET COUNTY TOURISM
908.218.4300
www.visitsomersetnj.org
VISIT SOUTH JERSEY
856.757.9400
www.visitsouthjersey.com
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