From left: Jennifer Costa, NJTIA Vice President; Ben Rose, NJTIA President; Lori Pepenella, NJTIA Board Chair; Jim Kirkos, Meadowlands Chamber and Meadowlands Live! CVB President & CEO; Joann DelVescio, NJTIA Treasure & Advocacy Day Chair; Michael Snyder, NJTIA Vice President; Samantha Rutledge, NJTIA Secretary. Photo Credit: Meadowlands CVB
Jim Kirkos, the president and CEO of the Meadowlands Chamber and Meadowlands Live Convention Visitors Bureau, has been honored with the Jim Whelan Memorial Tourism Award for his contributions over the past two decades to the region.
Kirkos was recognized recently by the New Jersey Tourism Industry Association. He has led the CVB for more than 20 years; among the events the Meadowlands has hosted includes the Wrestlemania 29 in 2013 and Wrestlemania 35 in 2019; the 2014 Super Bowl; eight matches, including the semifinals and final, for the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup and eight matches, including the final, for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Kirkos continues to advocate for the creation of a long-awaited
Convention Center at the Meadowlands Sports Complex on the site of the
former arena where the NBA’s Nets used to play.
The Meadowlands CVB was first imagined in early 2004 as part of the region’s interest in landing a Super Bowl. In August 2005, the NJ Meadowlands Commission approved a $25,000 grant to expand the CVB’s existing tourism kiosk program on the Hudson County Waterfront and the CVB held its inaugural Mdest Trade Show at the Meadowlands Expo Center featuring 50 exhibitors and seven sponsors.
Read more at our sister publication, SportsTravel Magazine.