The National Comedy Center in Jamestown placed second in the final ranking of the 20 “Best New Attractions” in the USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice travel award contest.

The National Comedy Center ranked as the top museum in the USA Today contest as well as the top ticketed attraction. The National Comedy Center was one of 20 new attractions throughout the country nominated in December by a panel of nationally-recognized travel experts for the 10Best Award series, which celebrates outstanding destinations, attractions and experiences.

“We are tremendously proud to be named the #2 “Best New Attraction” in the country, especially given such strong competition from attractions in major metro areas including Chicago, Orlando, New York City, St. Louis and Tulsa,” said Journey Gunderson, National Comedy Center executive director. “The outpouring of support from the regional community, from the comedy and entertainment community, and from comedy fans nationwide, has made this experience incredibly special for everyone who has been a part of this project. USA Today readers and tourists throughout the country now know what our recent visitors have already discovered — the National Comedy Center is one of the very best new attractions in the country and well worth a visit.”

Throughout the 28-day public voting period, the National Comedy Center and Tulsa, Oklahoma’s, “Gathering Place”, a $465 million, 100-acre, multi-attraction public park, were frequently trading first and second place positions, outranking major new attractions throughout the country, including Chicago’s new Architecture Center and St. Louis’ new Gateway Arch Museum. Ultimately the Tulsa attraction, one of the largest parks in the U.S., funded by the largest private donation to a public park in U.S. history, took the top position.

“Nine years ago, we established the goal of creating a national scope attraction dedicated to the art form of comedy in Jamestown, New York,” said Tom Benson, National Comedy Center Chairman. “As a result of the hard work, vision and support of many individuals and organizations, we were able to open the National Comedy Center on August 1, 2018. Reviews from guests have been outstanding and to finish so highly in such a prestigious competition is incredible reinforcement, regionally and from across the country, that we hit our mark.”