newjerseynewsroom.com

Financial situation could renew efforts to bring slot machines to the Meadowlands Racetrack

At its peak, the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority was looking for projects to undertake with its surplus of cash and was making generous payments into the state treasury.

Now it seems about to drown in red ink.

In the new state budget, the cost of payments on the authority's past debt rose more than 24 percent to more than $56 million, according to an nj.com report. Meanwhile shrinking revenue from the agency's two racetracks and the impending demise of Giants Stadium has put the authority in a deficit.

The situation is expected to renew efforts to bring slot machines to the Meadowlands Racetrack.

The Sports Authority, created in 1971 to develop the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, now also operated Monmouth Park racetrack and the Atlantic City and Wildwood convention centers.

The authority's fortunes always have been linked to betting at the Meadowlands Racetrack, which initially more than paid off the debt. But increased gambling opportunities in Atlantic City and now in neighboring states that have allowed casinos at racetracks, have contributed to the Meadowlands current financial struggle.