Murphy speaks in support of Meadowlands Convention Center

Gov. Phil Murphy said a convention center in the Meadowlands — long a dream of many — is very attractive conceptually.

Murphy, speaking at a Meadowlands Chamber event Friday morning, said the long-sought convention center — which would be an anchor in the area along with MetLife Stadium and American Dream — makes a lot of sense.

“I spent some time yesterday going through the specs — and the thing that jumps out at me about that is New York is under capacity, ironically, given it’s the biggest city in America, and it will continue to be the biggest city in America forever,” he said. “So, that’s something that’s out there that conceptually is very attractive.”

Murphy said better-connecting the Meadowlands to New York City makes sense, too. He called it a “destination opportunity.”

“This is a particularly powerful geographic access here — the Meadowlands right through into New York City — exploiting that channel is probably our collective job No. 1,” he said.

Murphy also gave a shout out to MetLife Stadium and the New Jersey Sports and Exhibition Authority, run by Paul Giulano, for its efforts this summer, handling numerous concerts from Taylor Swift (three), Bruce Springsteen, Ed Sheeran and Beyonce (two each).

“They had an incredible summer,” Murphy said. “(The SEA) has never run better than it is now.”

A lot of the credit for that goes to New Jersey Transit, with Murphy saying it moved a great number of people in and out of the area on concert nights flawlessly.