New Meadowlands Stadium

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This article or section is about a planned or proposed stadium.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the stadium approaches.

New Meadowlands Stadium (Working Title)
Location	50 State Highway 120 East Rutherford, New Jersey 07073
Broke ground	May 1 2007 (scheduled)
Opened	2010 (scheduled)
Owner	New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
Operator	New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
Surface	FieldTurf
Architect	Skanska AB 360 Architecture
Tenants
New York Giants (NFL) (2010-) New York Jets (NFL) (2010-)
Capacity
84,000

New Meadowlands Stadium is a planned football stadium. It will replace Giants Stadium in the parking lot of the current structure at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. As with the current stadium, both the New York Giants and New York Jets will play their home games there. However, unlike Giants Stadium, the new stadium will be a 50/50 partnership between both NFL teams. The stadium will be administered by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which also operates the current stadium (and owned it until selling it to the Giants as part of the stadium plan).

1 Capacity
2 Retractable roof possibility
3 Naming rights
4 Partnership
5 Financing
6 Lease terms
7 Transportation
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

[edit] Capacity

The new stadium will have seating for 84,000 fans, including 10,000 club seats and approximately 200 luxury suites. It will thus be the second or third-largest stadium in the NFL, after FedExField outside Washington D.C., currently the largest stadium in the league with a capacity of 91,704, and the New Cowboys Stadium outside Dallas, Texas, which plans to have a capacity of 80,000 expandable to 100,000 with additional end zone seating.^[1]

[edit] Retractable roof possibility

Although the stadium plans currently do not include a retractable roof, the stadium might be designed to incorporate a roof in the future, should a source of financing be found other than the Giants and Jets paying out of their own pockets. The inclusion of a roof has been stressed by local officials, as it is considered a crucial factor in potentially hosting the Super Bowl and NCAA Final Four. Regardless, the stadium will likely be part of the U.S. bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, as the stadium will be larger than Red Bull Park, the soccer-specific venue expected to open in 2008.

[edit] Naming rights

Naming rights will be sold, partially so the stadium is not named after one particular team or either team's legendary owners of the past. The deal is widely expected to set a record for an American sports venue.

[edit] Partnership

The partnership came together after the Jets' plan for a new stadium in Manhattan fell apart. Before the Jets came aboard, the Giants were working with New Jersey to build a stadium of their own. Preliminary sketches of the stadium were revealed, but were scrapped once the Jets came aboard so that both teams would approve and share ownership of the final plan.

The Giants will maintain their practice facilities and offices in and near the stadium (as they currently do), while the Jets will move their facilities from Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, to Florham Park, New Jersey.

[edit] Financing

On December 7, 2006, the NFL owners voted to approve loaning the Giants and Jets $300 million to help build the new stadium (teams cannot receive more than $150 million, but this stadium will host two teams). The stadium is expected to be started on in the spring of 2007 and be finished in time for the 2010 NFL season.^[2] Normally, these loans are repaid through club seat revenue that would otherwise be given to the visiting team as part of the NFL's revenue-sharing plan.

[edit] Lease terms

The lease for the new stadium is for 25 years, with options to extend it that could eventually reach 97 years. After the 15th year of the lease, every five years, one of the two teams can opt out of the lease, giving the state 12 months notice. However, if one team leaves for a new stadium, the other team would have to remain for the remainder of the lease.^[3] Based on the teams' histories, this clause presumably allows the Jets to eventually decide that they want to play in their own stadium and can find a way to finance it, although the relocation of team facilities to New Jersey makes this less likely to happen. It is unknown if the lease starts upon construction or upon the stadium's opening. The teams also get parking revenue from the Meadowlands' western parking lots year round, even when there are no events at the stadium (this would occur when other parts of the Meadowlands host events) ^[4]