Big Apple competition ?

BIG APPLE BID FOR A CIRCUS CATCH By BILL SANDERSON - NEW YORK POST December 2, 2006 -- The acrobats of Cirque du Soleil are jumping at the chance to set up a permanent show on the Hudson River. The Montreal-based circus - best known for its astonishing Las Vegas spectacles - is interested in opening a theater at Pier 40, at the western end of Houston Street in Hudson River Park, a Cirque spokeswoman said yesterday. Cirque du Soleil's letter of interest is part of a proposal by Related Companies for the redevelopment of Pier 40, said Renee-Claude Menard, Cirque's director of public relations. "If Related does get the bid, we would be interested in pursuing it," Menard said. But she said actually opening a show is probably "close to two years down the road," and the exact scope of Cirque's plans remain uncertain. Related did not return calls for comment, and a spokesman for the Hudson River Trust declined to disclose details about any of the four proposals submitted for Pier 40's redevelopment. The Trust is to pick a proposal by February. Some neighborhood groups worry that the pier's development will hurt access to its heavily-used, 3.5-acre athletic field in the courtyard of the giant building that rings the pier. Cirque du Soleil last month announced plans for a family-oriented show specially designed for the Theater at Madison Square Garden that begins in November 2007 and will run for 10 weeks every winter for four years. Cirque now runs five resident shows at Las Vegas casinos and one at Walt Disney World in Florida. It also has six shows touring the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe.