Casino authority kicks in for N.J. arena

Geoff Mulvihill

Friday, Nov. 29, 2002 | 9:51 a.m.

PENNSAUKEN, N.J. -- Building a new arena and convention center in this Philadelphia suburb is a matter of economic development and regional pride for political leaders behind the proposal.

But there are few fans among vendors in a no-frills shopping mall that would be cleared to make room for the 6,400-seat arena.

"I can't see what it would do for Pennsauken other than make it look pretty," said Tom Rea, the owner of Italian Village, a store and deli that specializes in imported meats and cheeses.

While vendors question whether the arena is needed or would succeed, the project is moving ahead. The state's Casino Redevelopment Authority agreed on Tuesday to pay $24 million of the expected $64 million bill.

The rest of the arena funding would have to be raised by the Camden County Improvement Authority.

Jeffrey Nash, freeholder director in Camden County, said the facility could open in two to four years.

County officials expect the gambling proceeds will be enough to more than cover buying the Pennsauken Mart, South Jersey Expo Center and Club Can Can, a strip club, all of which would be razed to make room for the new arena.

Officials say the arena would create as many as 300 part-time jobs and be a key in revitalizing the former industrial hotbed, located along the Delaware River between Camden and Trenton.

The arena could also host high school state championships in sports such as basketball and wrestling -- something no other place in southern New Jersey is now suited to do, Nash said.

"It means a lot to the identity of South Jersey," he said.

Ashok Patel, owner of High Spirits Discount Liquor Shop at the Mart, said he's worried the 500 or so employees at the mall's mostly mom-and-pop shops would lose their jobs.

"If they really want to do it, they should find the places where there are not business" to build an arena, Patel said.

Patel was also skeptical about whether an arena would succeed.

The concern is shared by Tom Regan, chairman of the Department of Sports and Entertainment Management at the University of South Carolina, who said the key would be how many nights the arena could be booked.

The Rolling Stones probably wouldn't play such a small arena and the circus would be unlikely to come to town, but there are plenty of entertainers who might, Regan said.

And many, he said, are affiliated with Clear Channel Communications, the San Antonio-based radio, billboard and entertainment conglomerate that would manage the arena.

Part of the attraction in Pennsauken would likely be a minor-league hockey team, something that's already present in Trenton, Philadelphia and Atlantic City.

"Sometimes I have to question the use of that money when you can go into a Philly or a Trenton to get your entertainment," Regan said.

Nash downplays the importance of a hockey team, saying it would account for only 15 percent of the arena's bookings.

But some believe that George E. Norcross III's desire to own a team is driving the deal.

"I'd love to tell Norcross to put his team in his back yard," said Jim Granate, who has owned a barbershop at the Pennsauken Mart for eight years. "Leave the Mart alone."