Bader Field Debate
The City of Atlantic City should be deliberate in its on-going discussions about how to sell the Bader Field property and to whom. The recent offer from casino and racetrack operator Penn National Gaming Inc. for $800 million sounds like an attempt to push the city into going for the first offer on the table. Penn National is in the middle of being sold, which could make for an unstable situation. Of course the offer sounded good, especially the $50 million to give the city property tax relief for the coming property reassessment on local residents.
The city was planning to sign an agreement with the state Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to have them broker the deal. Now the city fathers, including Mayor Scott Evans, are getting cold feet as they see hot cash in front of them. They say they fear they will lose control of the property if they sign the deal with the CRDA. The CRDA proposal for being partners with the city included a deposit of $25 million for property tax relief.
Considering that two former members of AC’s city council are in jail on bribery charges stemming from Bader Field, the CRDA’s plan to accept open bids for the property sounds like a better idea. The $50 million tax relief offered by Penn National feels like a legal bribe to convince the city not to take open bids from other possible investors and take their deal. Now. The CRDA has consistently done its appointed job and without any hint of scandal. Open bids being accepted by a well-respected organization with an excellent record of dependability sounds like a no-brainer to me.
In another note about Bader Field, I liked a recent letter to the Press of Atlantic City that suggested the site should have a memorial that acknowledged the history of Bader Field. Opened in 1910, the first known usage of the term "air-port" appeared in a newspaper article in 1919, in reference to Bader Field. The eventual developer should remember that history, even if the former airport becomes a mega casino.