N.J. considering new funding for Miss America, just not in Boardwalk Hall

ATLANTIC CITY — This weekend, two women will face off in Boardwalk Hall to determine a champion: Claressa Shields and Christina Hammer, two undefeated middleweights, in a competition touted as the biggest fight in women’s boxing history.

Yes, Boardwalk Hall has definitely left Miss America behind.

But has the State of New Jersey? The New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, which swore off a Miss America subsidy that had grown to $4.32 million a year by 2018, is again considering kicking in money, said Matt Doherty, CRDA executive director. Just not for Boardwalk Hall.

Both the Miss America Organization and the CRDA, which oversees Boardwalk Hall, agree that the iconic venue where Bert Parks sang “There She Is, Miss America” and decades of teary winners walked the runway is way too pricey for a struggling competition mired in an existential crisis.

“We’d like to see Miss America stay in the city,” Doherty said Thursday. “It’s not going to be $4.325 million or anything close to that. That is not tenable.”

Still, if Miss America is able to find a venue in Atlantic City “that makes sense," he said, the CRDA would be “open to discussing taking some type of a role, just like any other funding request.”

In a statement, the Miss America Organization (MAO) conceded that Boardwalk Hall had become beyond the pageant’s financial reach, especially the demands of a televised event in the 14,000-seat arena, built in 1929.

“CRDA has told city leaders and MAO it wants to keep the competition in Atlantic City and has been actively helping MAO explore alternative venues,” the statement said. "MAO is also exploring other cities as well. When the MAO board of directors has reviewed all of the proposals, MAO will make a public announcement.”

The organization, under the leadership of Gretchen Carlson and Regina Hopper, has been under fire from state pageant directors who attempted to reclaim power in a court battle. Carlson and Hopper instituted changes including ending the swimsuit competition in an attempt to expand the pool of contestants.

Miss America, which had its start in 1921 as a bathing beauty pageant, has long been struggling to find relevance and audience, and left Atlantic City in 2006 for seven years, staging the pageant in a Las Vegas casino.

An email scandal led to the change in the leadership, as Carlson, a former Miss America and Fox News host, vowed to bring the institution into the #MeToo era, even as former Miss America Cara Mund accused Carlson of bullying her during her reign.

The organization’s future rests on securing a new television contract, sponsors, and an accommodating host city. A request for proposals sent out late last year asked a host city to cover production costs for the competition that it estimated as running between $2.5 million and $4.9 million, plus a fee of $325,000 for other expenses. It also suggested that Carlson, chair of the board, be given use of a presidential suite.

Whether any Atlantic City subsidy would fall in that range remains to be seen. Under Gov. Phil Murphy, the CRDA has redirected the bulk of its money, raised through a 1.25 percent levy on casino revenue, toward Atlantic City’s municipal budget and addressing the needs of residents, a third of whom live in poverty.

Ocean Casino Resort, the former Revel and home to the state-of-the-art Ovation Theater, has been mentioned as a possible new home for Miss America.

No date has been announced for the competition, traditionally held in September. The Miss New Jersey Pageant, which broke Ocean City’s heart by announcing a relocation to Atlantic City, will take place June 15 inside Resorts Casino.