James E. McGreevey
Governor

William D. Watley
Secretary of Commerce

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Karen Wolfe - 609.292.2523

NETS SCORE FOR NEW JERSEY TOURISM

Trenton, N.J. (January 8, 2003)—The New Jersey Nets and the New Jersey Commerce & Economic Growth Commission are teaming up to promote tourism in the Garden State. On Thursday, January 9, 2003, the Office of Travel & Tourism's new weekly planner will be distributed to Nets fans during their game versus the Sacramento Kings.

"We're delighted to partner with the New Jersey Nets on this special promotion," says William D. Watley, Secretary of Commerce. "We expect that Nets fans will utilize these planners to mark their calendars to experience activities that are distinctly New Jersey."

The handsomely illustrated year-long guide provides a unique way to keep informed of interesting events happening around the Garden State. Presented in "week-at-a-glance" format, the spiral bound planner lists corresponding events on each weekly calendar page with dates and spaces for individual notations.

"The New Jersey Nets are pleased to have the New Jersey Office of Travel and Tourism as part of the Nets family," said Leo Ehrline, Nets Vice President of Sales/Marketing. "We're happy to be able to provide these useful planners to our fans."

Encompassing the state's diverse ethnic composition, the weekly planner reflects a wide?range of cultural events, from Japanese KODO presentations to the St. Ann's Italian Festival in Hoboken, to Victorian Days in Belvidere and Cape May and an American Indian Arts Festival on the Rankokus Reservation.

Over-the-top celebrations of every seasonal holiday, special occasion or event are also included- from an Open House at the Pequest Trout Hatchery and the Shad Festival in Lambertville, to the World Series of Birding at various locations along the Jersey Shore.

Other offerings contained in the planner highlight the New Jersey Home Show, a Sherlock Holmes Weekend in Cape May, the Passion Play in Union City, theatrical performances throughout the state, jazz and blues festivals; antiques, arts and crafts fairs and exhibitions, county fairs, heritage festivals, garden tours, Civil War Days in Clinton, the Cherry Blossom Festival in Newark's Branch Brook Park, the New Jersey Folk Festival at Rutgers University in New Brunswick and more.

For a copy of the Weekly Planner of Events or its companion publication, the 2003 New Jersey Travel Guide, contact the New Jersey Office of Travel & Tourism, at 1-800- VISITNJ (847-4865); or check the website, www.visitnj.org

"America the beautiful-only smaller," New Jersey encompasses less than 9,000 square miles, but it's surprisingly diverse, combining the best of metropolitan sophistication with rural farmlands, rivers and mountains - all accessible within a few hours. Ocean beaches stretch 127 miles, from Cape May Point to Sandy Hook. Vast expanses of forever-green acres are exemplified in the 70,000-acre Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and 1.1-million-acre Pine Barrens Reserve. There are mountains for skiing and climbing; trails for hiking, towns for shopping and culture. While super highways, express buses, trains and ferries provide quick and direct access into New York City and Philadelphia, back roads wind through historic hamlets, farmlands and pristine forests. Along the way are botanic gardens, historic architecture, museums, sporting events, gaming casinos and kids' action parks. New Jersey is a vacation destination for the best days of your life!