Stockton University Receives Several Inquiries for Sale of Showboat in Atlantic City

Following a special meeting of the Stockton University Board of Trustees Monday, Acting President Dr. Harvey Kesselman indicated the school has received several inquiries regarding the sale of the Showboat Atlantic City casino hotel site. He did not expound on who inquired and what they may have proposed.

“This meeting was called to discuss the various terms and offers being proposed and evaluate which would be in the best interest of Stockton. We look forward to bringing this to a conclusion in the near future,” he said.

Stockton purchased the shuttered Showboat for $18 million last December in hopes of creating a campus-hotel on the boardwalk site. The decision went sour after Showboat’s owner, Caesars Entertainment, planned to exercise a covenant that required the building to remain a casino.

Enter Glenn Straub, a wealthy Florida businessman in negotiations who purchased Showboat’s next door neighbor, Revel also shuttered. An April deal to sell the site to Straub for $26 million never reached fruition, and the contract expired.

The proposed sale does not diminish the university’s interest in expanding its presence in the struggling resort. The school already conducts classes at the historic Carnegie Building, and manages the Noyes Arts Garage galleries as well as Dante Hall Theater.

“Atlantic City presents significant opportunities for the growth of Stockton and the region as a whole,” Kesselman noted. “It’s not news to anyone that Stockton has spent years looking at various sites in Atlantic City. We still intend to expand our efforts there and be one of the anchors for Atlantic City’s renaissance.

According to the Press of Atlantic City, Showboat cost Stockton about $400,000 a month to maintain, including utilities, insurance and basic maintenance and security.

Note: As of Tuesday, Dr. Kesselman becomes Interim President of the University.