Ground Zero Site Taking Shape

Gothamist: On Friday, we went down to the World Trade Center site to see how construction of 1 World Trade Center and the 9/11 Memorial is progressing. It's striking how much progress there has been since April last year, when we last visited: The plaza and 9/11 museum pavilion seem nearly complete, and 1 WTC is officially a skyscraper, rising more than 70 stories above Ground Zero and visible for miles around.

We asked Chris Ward, the Executive Director of the Port Authority, how so much had gotten done this year. Through a spokesman, he told us "We are building a city within a city. Three years ago, we decided where this project should be on the 10th Anniversary and every year after. Establish clear goals and priorities, then harness the imagination and ingenuity of our builders - that has been the path to progress." Those builders now include more than 3,000 construction workers— the most who have ever been working at the site.

Click here to view more of Gothamist’s photos.

Islands of Adventure and Star Tours Voted Top Attractions

USA Today: Break out the butter beer, muggles: Universal's Islands of Adventures, powered by last year's debut of the wildly popular Wizarding World of Harry Potter, earned the top spot in the 2011 Theme Park Insider reader poll.

The website's annual awards are presented to the highest rated theme park, new attraction, table-service restaurant and on-site hotel, based on average reader ratings over the past 12 months. Islands of Adventure nabbed the best theme park award for the second time in a row; runners up were Busch Gardens Tampa and Disney California Adventure, which has lagged in earlier rankings but is in the midst of a $1 billion-plus makeover.

The Force was with Disney this year, as Theme Park Insider readers voted Star Tours: The Adventures Continue at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios as best new theme park attraction of 2011 by a wide margin. (Coasters were also popular, with Busch Gardens Tampa's new Cheetah Hunt and Texas Giant, the reconstruction of Six Flags Over Texas' classic wooden coaster, earning nods.)

Walt Disney World Epcot's Bistro De Paris was named best theme park restaurant for the second year in a row, with runners-up including longtime reader favorite Mythos at Universal's Islands of Adventure and a newcomer, Epcot's Via Napoli.

Three hotels earned kudos for being within walking distance of their respective parks: Disney's Grand Californian Hotel at the Disneyland Resort was named best on-site theme park hotel, with Universal's Portofino Bay Resort and Disney's Beach Club Resort coming in second and third.

Fires Hurting New Mexico Tourism

UPI: New Mexico's wildfires are causing tourists to stay away, officials said.

The massive Las Conchas fire has burned more than 70,000 acres and smoke drifting from the blaze is smelling up things in Santa Fe where the Santa Fe Opera is preparing to launch its summer series Friday, USA Today reported.

The already burning fires -- including the Los Alamos fire that forced the evacuation of the town -- and the threat of new ones is putting a damper on some summer travel over the July Fourth holiday, New Mexico officials said.

The fires, and the closure of some national forests and monuments has "a negative impact" on tourism in the area, Taos public relations director Cathy Connelly said.

"We're letting people know that they won't have access to the national forests at all," Connelly said. "You need to be honest with people about that before they get here … I haven't heard of a huge amount of people canceling."

From a historical perspective, "these big, severe fires are not unprecedented" in hot and dry intervals in the region, a geologist at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque told the Christian Science Monitor.

"But recent experience down here suggests that what we're looking at in the last few decades is at least as severe and maybe more so than anything we've seen since the last Ice Age," UNM geologist Grant Meyer said.

Las Vegas Entertainers Take to the Streets

Elvis Sighting

Las Vegas NV Blog: Las Vegas for years limited what street performers could do along its bustling Fremont Street, a pedestrian mall downtown bathed in LED-lights as well as lined with geriatric casinos. That process was relaxed in February after a series of court rulings determined city officials could not black-list certain people from public land.

The city didn't entirely back down. Under City Hall's new rules, costumed characters upon Fremont Street must still keep away from doors, ATMs, crosswalks as well as outdoor cafes. Mayor Oscar Goodman opposed changing a ban, claiming a street performers could attract alternative unwanted peddlers, specifically a men as well as women who pass out sexually explicit leaflets upon a Las Vegas Strip advertising escort services.

"I'm not mad, I'm angry," Goodman said at a time. "I don't like it."

On Fremont Street upon a recent weekend night, visitors did not seem to share Goodman's concerns. They gleefully lined up to pose for pictures with a parade of celebrity as well as character impersonators.

There was a Wolverine from X-Men lore, a twirling Michael Jackson as well as at slightest two Captain Jack Sparrows from Disney's Pirates of a Caribbean franchise. The costumes ranged from a cheap polyester garments found at discount Halloween shops to elaborate homemade concoctions emboldened with handfuls of satin, lace as well as red fur, depending upon a character.

"He sang to me," Leticia Holmes, a 57-year-old Utah mother, boasted after posing with a crooning man dressed as Prince. Holmes also posed alongside a Rod Stewart doppelganger, noting: "My sister-in-law is going to be jealous.

"The merriment of a crowd can belie the desperation of costumed performers who need to make rent. The impersonators cannot demand money for their services, but must strictly rely upon tips. A man who gave only his stage name as G.B. Entertainer is a 55-year-old Rick James impersonator who moved to Las Vegas 11 years ago with dreams of starring in a celebrity impersonation show. The entertainer claimed he began hustling up on Fremont Street last year after nearly all his paid gigs disappeared.

Impersonation jobs are increasingly limited. "American Superstars," one of the longest-running shows in Las Vegas, closed at a Stratosphere casino in March. As Rick James, Entertainer said he earns $75 in tips upon his best days. When it's slow, he might make $14. He poses in a red sequined suit as well as zebra-printed boots six nights a week."You're a baddest brother upon a planet," a passing fan told Entertainer upon a recent night. But the man didn't give Entertainer a tip. Few people do.

"I'm tired of it really, because I belong upon stage," Entertainer said as he collected a few $1 tips. "It's fun sometimes, but mostly it's degrading. It's embarrassing."

Four Time Nathan's Champion to Defend Title

New York Daily News: In this corner, competitive-eating champ Joey Chestnut. And in the other corner . . . well, a lot of hot dogs.

The challengers at Nathan's Fourth of July hot-dog eating contest weighed in yesterday in a silly spectacle full of pomp, circumstance and a whole lot of bad hot-dog-related buns, er, puns.

This much is clear: When the world turns its eyes to Coney Island on Monday, there will be a "dogged pursuit" of the title, and the challengers will "relish the chance" to emerge as "top dog."

Even Mayor Bloomberg got into the act. "Now, they say every dog has his day, and here in New York, the dog days of summer kick off with the hot-dog eating contest," Hizzoner said.

For the first time, there will be a separate women's competition at the annual event, and contestants from both genders weighed in at a City Hall ceremony.

Chestnut - at 218 pounds, down 2 pounds from last year - is the four-time defending champion. He says he'll consume about 20,000 calories at the competition - and that his doctor is okay with it. "I run, I really try to stay healthy, and I count my calories rigorously when I'm not doing the contests," said Chestnut, 27, who added that his doctor regularly checks his blood work and has declared him in good health.

Chestnut ate 54 hot dogs last year, down from his record of 68 the year before. His most serious challenger could have been former champion Takeru Kobayashi, who jumped on the stage during last year's competition - and was arrested. He's since been banned from the contest.

The winner of each gender competition will be awarded $20,000.

Sonya (The Black Widow) Thomas has been installed as the favorite on the women's side, organizers said. "There is no added pressure - but I plan to do the best," said Thomas, 42, adding she would only eat salads in the next two days to prepare. "I am very ready."

Thomas will square off against eight other women, some seasoned veterans, others amateurs eating in their first competition.

Laura Leu, a 33-year-old from Brooklyn, twice served as a Bunnette - a hot-dog cheerleader - in previous Coney Island competitions and was inspired to partake herself this time. "I didn't have a lot of talents growing up, but I could always eat, and my parents always said I had a big mouth," Leu said.

However, Leu - whose goal is to eat eight hot dogs, 33 fewer that Thomas' best - said her first hot-dog competition would also be her last. "I've been practicing," said Leu, a freelance writer, "and honestly, I don't like how I feel afterward."

Americans Scale Back July 4th Holiday Plans

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More Fast Food Chains Now Selling Booze

USA Today: The trip to the fast-food joint that was once all about burgers and fries is increasingly about something that could require you to flash your ID: beer and wine.

In a bid to boost business, two Sonic restaurants in South Florida soon will sell beer and wine. The move follows Burger King "Whopper Bars" recently opened in Miami, Las Vegas and Kansas City that sell beer. Starbucks recently began to serve local beer and wine in a handful of Seattle stores.

In a tough economy, the move towards alcohol is a way to compete with casual dining — and can help boost typically slow evening business, says Ron Paul, president at Technomic, a restaurant consulting firm. "For consumers, it's basically about having it your way — even if it's having a beer with your burger."

But the trend has critics.

"Fast food plus fast alcohol equals fast drunks," warns Michele Simon, research and policy director at the Marin Institute, an alcohol industry watchdog group.

Beer or wine sold at fast-food outlets might give young folks the wrong message, adds Christopher Muller, dean at Boston University's School of Hospitality Administration. "You don't want someone downing a quick beer, then getting into their cars and driving off. It's a delicate balance of risk and reward."

Several fast-food chains clearly consider the reward worth the risk:

•Sonic. Later this summer, the chain plans its first attempt to sell alcohol at two new locations: one in Miami and one in Fort Lauderdale. The Miami unit will sell three types of draft beer, 25 kinds of bottled beer and 10 varieties of wine to customers who eat on its patio — but not to folks in cars, says Drew Ritger, SVP of business analysis. The Fort Lauderdale location will only sell beer and wine inside.

"We look at this as an opportunity to drive evening business in this market," says Ritger, who says there are no plans to expand alcohol sales outside of South Florida.

•Burger King. Besides the three domestic Whopper Bars that serve beer, there are three others that also serve brews in Singapore, Venezuela and Spain, says spokeswoman Lauren Kuzniar. A cold brew at a domestic Whopper Bar fetches about $4.25.

•Starbucks. Four Starbucks coffee shops in the Seattle area now sell beer and wine, and a fifth will begin selling alcoholic beverages in September, says spokeswoman Lisa Passe. Beer goes for $5 a bottle, and a glass of wine for up to $9.

•Pizza Hut. The chain has sold beer for decades in many dine-in locations, and a handful of delivery/carry-out locations offer it, says spokesman Chris Fuller. A brew sells for up to $3.

FAA Reworking Air Controller Work Schedules

Government Executive: The Federal Aviation Administration will work with the union representing the nation's air traffic controllers to develop new sleep schedules that incorporate fatigue science, it was announced Friday.

The agreement comes after a number of reports this spring of controllers falling asleep during overnight shifts, but the new guidelines were in the works before then. They were created by a working group established under a 2009 collective bargaining agreement between the FAA and the union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA).

"We are pleased that the efforts of the joint NATCA-FAA fatigue workgroup that produced these science-based recommendations have resulted in an agreement and their implementation into the schedules and work environments of our nation's dedicated and highly professional air traffic controller workforce," NATCA President Paul Rinaldi said in a statement.

Currently, controllers receive a minimum of nine hours of rest between shifts. Many controllers opt to cram as many shifts as possible into the shortest time period possible in order to have long weekends.

In addition to the new sleep schedule principles, which are to be created no later than September 1, 2012, controllers will also be allowed to listen to the radio and read "appropriate" written materials, according to an FAA press release.

Under the agreement, the FAA will develop a way to allow controllers to regain their medical certification if diagnosed with sleep apnea if treatment is completed. Currently, controllers are sidelined if they receive a sleep apnea diagnosis.

A Fatigue Risk Management System for air traffic control operations will be developed by January 2012 that will collect and analyze data associated with work schedules. This is aimed to ensure that the schedules are not at risk for increasing controller fatigue.

"Air traffic controllers have the responsibility to report rested and ready to work so they can safely perform their operational duties," said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt in a statement. "But we also need to make sure we have the right policies in place to reduce the possibility of fatigue in the workplace."

Mexican State Wants "Beautiful" Tourist Police Force

CNN: A help-wanted ad in the Mexican Pacific state of Guerrero is drawing rebuke from some women's rights groups.

In effect, the ad says: Wanted: Women ages 18-26, who are at least 5-foot-5 and whose weight is proportional to that height. Must have good physical and mental health. Knowledge of English is a plus.

The job? A new, all-female tourist police force proposed for Guerrero's most popular visitor destinations, including Acapulco.

"The idea is to have a police force comprised of only women, preferably beautiful ones," said Ramon Almonte Borja, head of the state's public security secretariat.

In addition, he said the tourist police would wear attractive uniforms to distinguish themselves.

"We are designing a gorgeous uniform that can distinguish us like the police in London, for example, so that Acapulco can have an additional visual attraction to what we already have," Almonte said.

The want ad says that there are 52 openings for the police force, but a security secretariat spokesman Oscar Gatica told CNN their attitude is to wait and see how many women apply.

"We're indignant" over the news, said Blanca Rico, executive director of Semillas, a women's rights group in Mexico City. "Once again women are put in the stereotype of being decorations."

The state's idea for a tourism police discriminates against women who do not fit the physical mold they are looking for, she said.

What should matter is how professional they are and how capable they are of being police officers, not how they look, Rico said.

While his boss said he was looking for "beautiful" women, Gatica said that applicants don't necessarily have to fit that qualification. What they are looking for is a uniform look to their personnel, he said.

In addition to the age, height and weight requirements, the police force is looking for women without any tattoos and no piercings other than the ears.

The tourist police will not be armed, and their function will be mostly to deter crime and to act as a guide for visitors, Gatica said.

For her part, Rico said she couldn't believe that a public official like Almonte could be so crass.

"One would never imagine male police officers being selected for their looks," she said.

Hopes High for Mississippi Gulf Coast Tourism

Mississippi Gulf Coast

WLOX: A four day Fourth of July weekend begins today. And folks in the tourism industry are predicting big crowds this weekend. Last year, the normally busy Fourth of July holiday was tarnished by the impact of the oil spill.

Not so this year. There are certainly plenty of positive signs this day before the official start of the long holiday weekend: Busy beaches, boat trips and families enjoying some South Mississippi hospitality. All point to a promising holiday weekend.

Families are already flocking to the Mississippi Gulf Coast for a relaxing weekend.

"A quick getaway. Close by," was how Jim Parish of Florence, Mississippi described the upcoming coast weekend with his wife and kids. That's why the Parish family made the short drive south from Florence, Mississippi. We caught up with them boarding the "Sailfish" for the Biloxi Shrimp Trip.

"Kids have never been here. The wife and I have probably been ten plus years, if not more," he said.

"The beach. Just relaxing and enjoying the scenery. Just getting away from home for awhile,"
said his wife, Jodi.

Following last year's unwanted interruption from the oil spill, Biloxi Cruise Company has been enjoying a great summer so far. And numbers look good for the upcoming weekend.

"We're going to be packed out. We actually offered a fireworks cruise Monday night and are booked up already. Been booked up for a week and a half now. And we've been getting lots of calls for this weekend," said Brandy Moore with the Biloxi Cruise Company.

Plenty of folks will be soaking up Fourth of July sun on the beach this weekend. Don Irwin hit the sand shortly after his 14 hour drive from up north. "Well, this is nice. Yeah, we have nothing up there in Indiana like this," said Irwin.

While the 26 miles of sand beach might be the biggest attraction for tourists this holiday weekend, we also found plenty of visitors in the market for fresh seafood. While fishermen aboard the "Miss Kim" loaded ice for another shrimping trip, plenty of visitors lined up to fill their coolers with fresh shrimp.

"Picking up some shrimp. We're glad to see that the shrimp are in. So we're going to take those back to Central Mississippi," said Jackie Etie of Decatur, Mississippi."We went to Ship Island. And we've come over to get the shrimp. We went to New Orleans yesterday. And we've been fishing at his house, taking it easy," said Oklahoma City visitor, Steve Wells.

All signs point to a busy tourism weekend. Hotel operators are expecting a "good" weekend, but there are still plenty of vacancies.

Michael Phelps Sets His Sights on 2012 Olympics

Bettor.com: The 2008 Beijing Olympics superstar, Michael Phelps, aims to find his standing at the upcoming stages of the 2011 Shanghai World Championships and the 2012 London Olympic Games.

The 25-year-old Michael Phelps is putting in all his efforts to dominate his events at the various stops of the 2010-11 USA Grand Prix Series, as he heads for the 2012 Olympics. The 14-time Olympic gold medallist, Phelps, displayed some inferior swims at the Austin Grand Prix, where he lost his events of Individual Medley (IM). Phelps suffered a disappointing defeat from Lochte at the Austin Grand Prix held in January. In the 200m Individual Medley, Lochte made a record by finishing in 1 minutes and 59.26 seconds, while Phelps came third in his worst ever performance.

Before the Indianapolis Grand Prix, he said that his participation at the fourth stop of the USA Grand prix will give him an idea of his standing as a competitor. He swam in the events of the 200m freestyle and butterfly, 200m fly, 100m freestyle and the Individual Medley at the Indiana University Natatorium.

The Olympic champion faced a tough competition from Ryan Lochte, who was declared as the dominant swimmer of 2010.

Phelps said, “Hopefully, I'll be able to swim a little faster than I did in Texas. I feel like I'm making steps forward. Over the last couple weeks, couple months, I feel like I'm heading in the right direction. I think there are some small technical things I need to work on.”

Phelps is also preparing for the 2011 World Championships to be held in Shanghai, during July. This will be the last main event before the summer Olympics 2012. With reference to increasing competition, Phelps realises that there are new faces, as the Europeans are doing really well and Ryan is also giving a great performance. He looks forward to the fun-filled summers in Shanghai, this year.

Phelps has not made further plans beyond the 2012 Olympics and is aware of the fact that this could be his farewell tour. Nevertheless, with a spectacular career and a bundle of achievements, he is motivated to do more. He has some goals in mind which he wants to achieve before he officially retires.

With two deteriorating swims in the 200m butterfly event at the Michigan Grand Prix and Charlotte UltraSwim, Phelps is well aware of the fact that a lot is needed to be done. At the Michigan championships, he lost the distant butterfly event for the first time in nine years, finishing fourth in his main category. In addition, he failed to re-gain his 200m title at the Charlotte UltraSwim, as he finished second in the butterfly swim.

Phelps, who won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, admits that he will have to work hard for the upcoming world events, as he never thought that he would lost his 200m butterfly crown.

Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum Turns 35

USA Today: On July 1, 1976, as part of the nation's Bicentennial celebration, Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum welcomed visitors to its modern building on the National Mall. Over the years, hordes have eyeballed the 1903 Wright Flyer, the Spirit of St. Louis, Friendship 7 and the Apollo 11 command module. It is billed as the most popular museum in the world (amazing, since legendary tourist draws such as the Louvre in Paris are so much bigger).

As of May, the museum says it has welcomed 303,674,128 million (!!!!!) visitors to its two sites (the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center opened outside D.C. near Dulles International Airport in 2003 and now is the most popular museum in Virginia).

The 35th anniversary at the main museum flagship includes the Imax movie that premiered on opening day. To Fly! will be showing at 1976 prices: 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for children. At 2 p.m., curators Michael Neufeld and Alex Spencer will discuss their book, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: An Autobiography. It will be on a live webcast on the museum site, so you can hear it even if you can't be in D.C.

If you can't go, visit the 35th anniversary website, which includes congratulatory messages from Apollo 11 astronaut and the mist Air and Space director, Michael Collins -- even from Elmo of TV's Sesame Street. Anyone can post memories of trips to the museum. Seeing To Fly! -- and feeling as if I were soaring over the world -- would be my exhilarating experience.

The Air and Space facilities host the world's largest collection of historic aircraft, spacecraft and flight artifacts. There are 22 exhibition galleries in the flagship building and two exhibition hangars at the Udvar-Hazy Center. A third hangar is due at year's end. Admission is free at both, but expect to pay $15 for parking at Udvar-Hazy.

Alaska Airlines Passenger Stung by Scorpion

KTVA: It sounds more like the sequel to a Samuel L. Jackson movie, but it’s the true tale of an Oregon man recently stung by a scorpion on an Alaska Airlines flight.

During his flight from Seattle to Anchorage, passenger Jeff Ellis was trying to catch a nap on the June 17 red-eye flight when he felt something crawling up his sleeve and attempted to brush it away.

Ellis went to grab the scorpion with a napkin, but the venomous bug stung him on the elbow.

Doctors traveling on the plane attended to him while the flight continued to Anchorage.

Ellis said he suffered no major affects from the sting.

Alaska Airlines officials suspect the scorpion came on board the plane in Austin, Texas, where the flight originated.

Human deaths from scorpion stings are infrequent.

Strauss-Kahn Case in Turmoil

The rape case against former International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn is in serious doubt, as recent information has raised credibility questions about the maid making the accusations against him. On Thursday, Prosecutors asked that Strauss-Kahn’s bail be reduced and the terms of his strict house arrest be reviewed.

Although forensic tests found clear evidence of a sexual encounter between Strauss-Kahn, 62, and the woman at a New York hotel, prosecutors have come to doubt much of what she has told them about her life and her whereabouts in the hours around the alleged crime.

Prosecutors believe the woman, who emigrated from Guinea, lied on her application for asylum in the United States, with a claim that she had been raped. When first asked about the claim by prosecutors she told the story “in a believable way,” a source told NBC News, but when asked about it again, she admitted that “she lied to them … and on the application about the whole rape claim.”

They also found disturbing ties linking her to people involved in drug dealing and money laundering. Within a day of the alleged assault, she was recorded in a phone conversation with a prisoner discussing the possible benefits of pursuing charges against Strauss-Kahn. The man had been arrested on charges of possessing 400 pounds of marijuana and is one of a number of people who have made cash deposits totaling $100,000 into the woman’s bank account in the last few years.

Navy Pier's Proposed $155 Million Revamp

Chicago Business: A new $155-million plan to revamp Navy Pier calls for adding a boutique hotel at the pier's east end and revitalizing the facility's retail area.

The plan also includes potential expansion of the Chicago Children's Museum and of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater by adding a 950-seat house, more than doubling the theater's current capacity.

Navy Pier managers are still working out deals with the museum and the theater.

Board members of Navy Pier Inc., the non-profit entity that will take over Navy Pier operations Friday, unveiled the plan Thursday, along with executives from the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which currently owns and operates the pier.

In July, the pier board will begin an international competition — with prize money — seeking top design talent. The team, to include architects, landscape architects and urban designers, will be finalized in six months, according to Navy Pier General Manager Marilynn Gardner.

Crystal Garden, the 1-acre indoor palm court located in the Family Pavilion area, will receive a major makeover to become a child-friendly indoor park. The pier's lighting scheme will be enhanced, the Ferris wheel will be improved, public art and “interactive water features” like fountains will be added and the East End Park, which juts out into the water, will be enhanced to become a “world-class park,” according to Steve Haemmerle, executive-vice president of Navy Pier Inc.

Pier executives said they hope to double the Children's Museum to 100,000 square feet, but the nearby presence of the IMAX theater complicates expansion. The new Navy Pier plan focuses on improving nightlife and non-summer attractions to draw more visitors to the state's busiest tourist attraction. Currently, 6 million of the 8.7 million annual visitors come between May and October.

The plan aims to create “a more sophisticated, more adult nighttime persona” for the pier, possibly including “four or five new white-tablecloth restaurants” and a jazz club, said Jim Reilly, trustee of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority.

One amenity that won't be added, Mr. Reilly says, is a casino. "A casino is just totally inconsistent with the character of the pier," he said, calling the idea "a non-starter" and claiming it would not fit well with Navy Pier's atmosphere.

Executives stressed that this plan is “aspirational” and financial figures and details are subject to change. No hotel developer has yet been identified, nor have specific new restaurants or retail operations been determined.

The $155-million investment involves public funds and does not include private investment, including the money that would come from the Children's Museum and the Shakespeare Theater, as well as from commercial partners like a hotel developer. MPEA will contribute $50 million.

Mr. Reilly said MPEA hopes to increase its contribution beyond $50 million “but it won't be anywhere near” the total estimated cost. Pier executives said the MPEA contribution will be augmented by aggressive fundraising and selling naming rights to various public spaces.

Remarking on 2010's 8 million visitors, Mr. Reilly said, “That's more than all the sports teams combined, and look at all the sponsorship money they get.” Private sponsorship at the pier is “an untapped market,” he said.

The new 13-member Navy Pier board, helmed by retired Boeing Co. executive Sarah Nava Garvey, was established in January, when the MPEA split operations of the pier and McCormick Place, which it also runs. The MPEA announced it will lease the pier at no cost to Navy Pier Inc. The lease is slated to run for 15 years, with renewal options.

Also July 1, McCormick Place will transition to private management. Philadelphia-based facility operator SMG Management Inc., which also operates Soldier Field, will take over management duties from MPEA.

The transition is part of a state-mandated overhaul of the convention business that aims to make Chicago more competitive with rival convention destinations such as Orlando and Las Vegas.

The new framework is also a response to an Urban Land Institute report last fall that recommended Navy Pier reconfigure its leadership structure and create a new strategic plan that would modernize and reinvigorate the Pier.