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Finally a place big enough for Comic-Con — a proposed 3.8 million square-foot exhibition hall and hotel suggested by New York State governor Andrew Cuomo. the vast complex would also house a casino nearby — very handy to gamble your profits from selling mint copies of SPIDER-MAN #583. Sure it’s in Jamaica, Queens right next to the Aqueduct race track….but at least it’s big enough!

Of course this idea of a new giant convention center for New York City is just a pipe dream, really. The linked article does include much thinly veiled hostility about the Javits Center, which would be torn down if a new local convention center was built.

The land could fetch billions of dollars from developers, say state officials, urban planners and real estate executives. That could plug budget gaps and pay for expensive projects, like expanding Pennsylvania Station.


Students of convention center-ology will definitely want to file this clipping.

1 COMMENT

  1. Better idea: move NYC’s very own New York Comic Con to this giant new convention center in Queens.

  2. Jamaica, Queens is a crappy area, not the safest of places to go to. FAIL!!!

    I’d take the crowded Javits over going here any day…

  3. 1) No hotels? Maybe not something like the Waldorf, but there are numerous hotels near JFK and along the Van Wyck Expressway.

    There are no hotels near the Javits, and yet it still hosts numerous shows.

    With the convention center, plus JFK, there will be a larger enticement for more hotels. If the Governor also gets his wish for statewide casino gaming, then there could be a triple whammy, just like Las Vegas: nearby airport, convention center, casino hotels.

    2) Unlike Javits, there’s a lot of space to expand. Imagine the entire space between Rockaway Boulevard, Southern Parkway, Van Wyck Expressway, and Centerville Street filled with convention center buildings! 200 city blocks plus Aqueduct!

    3) People go to conventions partly for business, partly to have fun. If one is selling tickets, you want the location to be exotic, so that the conference will be well attended. Yes, the convention center is in Queens, but the conference is in NEW YORK.

    4) Look up “CeBIT” on Wikipedia. Then google “Deutsche Messe AG”. Take a look at the map here:
    http://www.messe.de/halls

    Now imagine that in Queens. Five Million square feet. 800,000 attendees.

    Now imagine the New York Comic Conglomerate where each building has a different fandom. Movie and television geeks in one hall. Comics in another. Next to that, anime and manga fans. Sports fans, record collectors, railway enthusiasts and modelers, an adults-only area, Disneyana, historical memorabilia (and a bivouac for those who wish to engage in historical re-enactment, maybe pair them up with the LARPers), gamers of all stripes, cosplayers and costumer guilds, a RenFaire, etsy crafters and makers, an alternative arts area (think Burning Man) with a freak show, a book fair, a WIRED NextFest showcasing future tech…

    …with hundreds of satellite events, just like Angouleme.

  4. http://www.city-journal.org/2012/22_1_snd-convention-centers.html

    “The convention business has been waning for years. Back in 2007, before the current economic slowdown, a report from Destination Marketing Association International was already calling it a “buyer’s market.” It has only worsened since. In 2010, conventions and meetings drew just 86 million attendees, down from 126 million ten years earlier. Meantime, available convention space has steadily increased to 70 million square feet, up from 40 million 20 years ago.”

    One center with 5M square feet would be a significant increase in national space. And the demand isn’t there. This thing won’t get built.