Questions on Cuomo's convention center plan

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's proposal to build the nation's largest convention center at Aqueduct racetrack in Queens has won some initial support -- but also has raised numerous thorny political and financial questions:

Why build a massive facility when convention centers around the nation seem to be struggling?

Can the administration move forward without approval from a state oversight board?

What public costs -- such as building a new subway line from Manhattan to Aqueduct -- might be involved?

Does expanding Aqueduct make it the leading candidate to operate the first non-Indian-run casino in New York? Cuomo has proposed amending the state constitution to permit Las Vegas-style casinos -- featuring poker, roulette and other "table" games.

The governor announced his idea to build a 3.8-million-square-foot convention center during his State of the State speech. He said that it would be a key to jump-starting New York's economy and that New York's current facility, the Jacob Javits Convention Center, is inadequate.

"That is hurting New York because we can't get the big shows," the governor said.

The administration disclosed later that it had signed a "nonbinding" letter of agreement a day before the speech with Genting, the Malaysia-based casino company that already operates video slot machines at Aqueduct, to build a "convention and exhibition center" and hotel with 3,000 rooms, expand video slots and add parking spaces. Genting has indicated it would invest close to $4 billion in the plan and said the project would create 10,000 construction jobs and 10,000 permanent jobs.

Any formal agreement likely would require approval by the state Franchise Oversight Board, which oversees development at Aqueduct. Cuomo aides declined to discuss the subject.

Tough market

Genting clearly believes it can make a profit in a business that hasn't done well lately, analysts said.

"This is an oversupplied market," said Heywood Sanders, a professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, who specializes in convention centers. "There's been an enormous boom in convention center space around the country. Governor Cuomo is not the only state or local elected official who has concluded that this is dandy politics, to argue that a new convention center will bring great riches to your community."

Over the past decade, there has been a 35 percent increase in the square footage of convention and exhibit space around the country, Sanders said. During that time, convention attendance has been flat or declining.

In contrast, Kathryn Wylde, president and chief executive of the Partnership for New York City, a business organization that has supported Cuomo, said the fact that a private firm is willing to invest $4 billion means it believes that is a viable project.

"There may be a glut of convention space, but there's only one New York," said Wylde.

Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) have said they want to review the proposal.

'Big imprint'

"I don't know how this is going play in the local community. That's a big, big imprint," said Sen. Carl Marcellino (R-Syosset), adding that the jobs would be welcomed.

An administration official said no subsidies or tax breaks had been agreed upon. The deal could mean new subway service, though it is not clear whether that would be done on existing tracks or if a new line would be built.

Genting said in an information sheet that it would work with the state and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to "help fund and introduce" uninterrupted subway service between midtown Manhattan and the convention center.

The new convention center would eventually replace Manhattan's Javits Center, for whose expansion the state recently borrowed $700 million. The debt is being paid off by a hotel tax rather than revenue from the convention center. The borrowing was back loaded so that $604.2 million comes due from 2030 to 2045.

If the Javits Center were torn down, the debt would still have to be paid off, though that could mean hotel guests 20 years from now would be paying taxes on a convention center that no longer existed.

With Yancey Roy