NJ gives NFL super tax break for Super Bowl, and pays for security [View all]

[Jesus Malverde]

Call it an $8 million gift.

When New Jersey landed this year’s Super Bowl, it gave the National Football League a major tax break. The state agreed to suspend the sales tax on all tickets and parking for today’s big game — a gift that will cost the state $8 million in lost revenues, officials said.

And that’s not the only cost the state is picking up.

All the security and police presence needed for the game — including the estimated 700 New Jersey state troopers who will be patrolling in and around MetLife Stadium today — will also not cost the NFL a dime. The state said it is covering all of its public safety expenses for the game, which is expected to include hundreds of hours in overtime.

Officials say the cost of the game is worth it, pointing to the additional business and economic activity that will be generated by the game, including sales at local restaurants and bars, as well as increased hotel taxes. However, with an event straddling two states, and many fans staying across the river in New York, no one can yet calculate the economic impact on New Jersey of staging the Super Bowl in the Garden State.

http://www.nj.com/super-bowl/index.ssf/2014/02/nj_gave_nfl_8_million_tax_break_and_pass_on_security_costs_to_land_the_2014_super_bowl.html