Atlantic City Sets New Date For Implosion Of Former Trump Plaza Hotel And Casino
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS/AP) -- Atlantic City has set a new date for the implosion of the former Trump Plaza hotel and casino. It will come down on Feb. 17 at 9 a.m.
Mayor Marty Small made the announcement Thursday.
Monday's date was scrapped after the building owner, billionaire investor Carl Icahn, opposed a charity auction for the right to press the implosion button.
Icahn objected to that plan on safety grounds, saying a member of the public chosen to trigger the detonation could be injured by flying debris, as could any spectators nearby.
He sent a cease-and-desist order to the auction house that was soliciting the bids, which canceled the auction.
But Icahn said he will replace the $175,000 in bids that had already been made that would have gone to the Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City.
On Thursday, Small announced a new fundraising campaign related to the implosion. The Hard Rock and Ocean casinos will donate 10 hotel rooms for winners, as will One Atlantic, an events space with a prime view of Trump Plaza, where 10 winners will be able to view the 9 a.m. implosion from behind glass a safe distance away.
Atlantic City Fire Chief Scott Evans said several blocks will be cordoned off before the implosion, and some areas will need to be evacuated or designated as places where residents need to remain indoors during the demolition.
Trump Plaza opened in 1984, and was the site of numerous high-profile boxing matches that Trump, then a real estate developer, attended.
It shut down in 2014 and has fallen into disrepair, necessitating its demolition.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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