NEW YORK—The trade show industry is conflicted over Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plan to tear down the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center (pictured), executives at IAEE’s “Outlook 2012 and Beyond” meeting Tuesday indicated.

The International Association of Exhibitions and Event's New York Area Chapter heard presentations on three alternatives to Javits that New York State is currently considering:

• * The James A. Farley Post Office at 34th Street and Penn Station, next to the planned Moynihan Train Station.
• * A “World Trade Center Queens” next to the Flushing-Meadows Corona Park, home of the U.S. Open.
• * A new, 3.8 million square-foot convention center, ballroom and racino at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens.

While Aqueduct has grabbed attention as the most sensationalistic plan, the idea at the Farley Post Office is to locate a new convention center adjacent to a central, major transportation hub. At Corona Park, the idea is to take advantage of a large space that was the site of the 1964 World’s Fair and that is near JFK Airport.

Of the Aqueduct proposal, Ken McAvoy, SVP, Reed Exhibitions, had major reservations. “I am not sure the location is correct. I am not sure the size is correct, including the first bite of the apple—3,000 hotel rooms. Gaming should not be the determining factor. More important is an environment conducive to doing business. It’s the lift—the whole 10 yards,” McAvoy said. “What this industry did in relaunching the Javits Center in 1995—that should not be forgotten by anyone. If we are to do this, we need to be sure that we do it the right way and not for the sake of political gain or for gambling.”

CEIR President and CEO Doug Ducate, who chaired the day’s meeting, then posed a key question to the audience of 200 executives: Who is in favor of razing the Javits Center? Not one person indicated support of demolishing the 26-year-old, big-box facility, currently undergoing a $463 million renovation.

That does not mean to say that major convention industry players are not interested in the possibilities of Javits alternatives and their implications.

“It involves the entire infrastructure of New York, including the mass transit system and its highways—and a regional plan to further develop the West side of Manhattan,” said Bob Yaro, president of Regional Plan Association, a metropolitan policy, research and advocacy group. The infrastructure to support a new convention center itself will take 15 years to build, he said.

Yaro, who was most enthusiastic for the expansion of the Farley Post Office, built in 1912 by McKim Mead & White, noted how the suspension systems at the Farley and adjacent Moynihan buildings could readily be used for “large floor-plate trade shows.”

Yaro urged industry members to “think creatively about how that could happen, with incredible loading capabilities made to order—at the most convenient location in the city.” However, Yaro admitted there is a case for building a new center at Aqueduct or even in Corona Park since either could become a “one seat subway ride from JFK Airport. New York is the only city in the world without that, which begs the question of how can it compete with Chicago’s McCormick Place?”

Genting Americas Senior Vice President Christian Goode said his company envisions modeling the new Aqueduct on its “family friendly” Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore. There, even with its Las Vegas-style gaming, Sentosa boasts a Universal Studios and a Marine Life Park.

“With 51 casinos on three continents and 30 marketing officers in 12 countries, we are pretty good at managing large, integrated properties,” Goode said. Fifty million people come to New York each year, attracted to its leading position in the world of finance, media and fashion, Goode continued. The key for a new Javits Center for the 21st century is continuing to attract those numbers—and more, he said.

Genting is currently working with the Governor Cuomo and the New York State Senate Assembly on the economics of the deal, which will take years to become a reality. As far as the timetable for official discussions over Genting’s and other Javits proposals, negotiations won’t begin until “late fall,” Goode indicated.  Further, Genting is not planning to complete the first building in the complex, a 1,000-room hotel, until early 2016.

“We don’t know the economic model,” Goode admitted. Meanwhile, on Monday, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli approved a contract with Genting New York to build a video lottery facility at Aqueduct Racetrack—making it appear that the Genting proposal is the shoe-in.

Industry Pushback

One of the industry’s biggest fears is that an entirely brand-new convention center could go to waste if it fails to draw visitors from other world-class, destinations in the U.S., such as Las Vegas, Chicago and Boston.

Then there is the resistance by the New York hotel industry, which has been charging customers a $1.50 room tax per night to support a 40-year, $700 million bond to renovate the Javits Center.

As Genting and other hotel and convention property managers make their way through the New York political process, compromise will surely be the name of the game. Already, Genting is backing off of the idea of demolishing the Javits Center, which attracts 1.113 million people a year.

“We would like to work collaboratively with all stakeholders to develop this project so that it benefits New Yorkers and the City as a whole,” Goode said. “You are the industry that will use this space. We are hoping to conclude talks soon as to the facilities and optimal configuration.”

Asked by EXPO why Genting is pushing the Aqueduct project now, Goode noted that the new facility is projected to create 1,500 jobs, 70% of which will be filled locally. “This governor is very impatient and has a sense of urgency for the economy of New York," Goode said. "We want to put people to work, and many of these are good-paying construction jobs people could use in this tough time of unemployment."