Stockton President says university 'stabbed in the heart,' as wrench is thrown into AC campus plan

Stockton University's plans for the Showboat Atlantic City could be in jeopardy.

Stockton University President Herman Saatkamp said the school tried to establish a full campus in Atlantic City six times during his tenure "and got kicked in the teeth each time." But the most recent stalemate due to a legal battle between the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort and Caesars Entertainment makes him feel like "we were stabbed in the heart."

The development is in jeopardy because of a 1988 legal agreement that requires that the property, once the Showboat casino, be used as a casino hotel, the Press of Atlantic City reports. Trump Taj Mahal is enforcing the legal covenant.

"Candidly, Caesars Entertainment was to resolve a 1988 covenant with Trump Taj Mahal, and we were led to believe that had happened," Saatkamp said. "However, it did not, and Trump Taj Mahal does not want a university campus near its property. As a result, Trump Taj Mahal is going to enforce the covenant that says the former Showboat property can only be used as a first-class casino-hotel. Stockton University and, I believe, Atlantic City are caught in the middle of two corporations."

Saatkamp said he has worked Atlantic City officials to alleviate any issues and create a zone where an institution such as Stockton is permitted but that Trump Entertainment says it will stymie these efforts.

"While our attorneys assure us we will prevail, the delay may be far too costly for Stockton," Saatkamp said. "This gamesmanship prohibits us from: getting into contracts to re-open the hotel portion; from renovating the building so that it can be used as an institution of higher learning; from holding summer and fall classes this year; from entering into agreements with vendors to provide services to students; and much more.

"Simply stated, we would be saddled with an all cash outlay with no revenues in return. It would be unconscionable to submit Stockton University's financial stability to this risk and delay. Doing so endangers the cost of student tuition and creates the potential for job loss among faculty and staff. We cannot afford to just hold this building with no incoming revenues while the two casinos play their own gamesmanship."

Saatkamp said Stockton is still working to resolve the issues with Trump. But if those efforts are not successful, the university will look to sell the property. If it is not able to sell soon, it will close as much of the building as possible to reduce the number of employees on its payroll that it hired to tend to the Atlantic City campus and the building will sit empty.

The university has less than three weeks before contracts must be signed if they plan to open a hotel by the summer and the college by July, the Press of Atlantic City reports.

Stockton announced its intent to purchase the defunct Showboat property last November from Caesars Entertainment. The acquisition called for a 28-acre island campus.

Experts and local business owners said the Atlantic City branch would be an advantage to the troubled city.

“Many inner cities now are basically supported by what they would call ‘eds and meds,’” Paul Jargowsky, professor of public policy at Rutgers University-Camden, told the Philadelphia Business Journal last year. “It diversifies your economic base to have a university there.”

The college branch would also give Atlantic City residents access to undergraduate and graduate degrees while enhancing the human capital, Jargowsky said.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal