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	September 5, 2007
Opened	August 2010 (scheduled)
Owner	New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
Operator	New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
Surface	Artificial Turf
Architect	Ewing Cole Skanska AB 360 Architecture
Tenants	New York Jets (NFL) (2010) New York Giants (NFL) (2010)
Capacity	82,500

New Meadowlands Stadium is a football stadium currently under construction in East Rutherford, New Jersey. 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).

[edit] Capacity

The new stadium will have seating for 82,500 fans, including 10,000 club seats and approximately 200 luxury suites. It will be the second-largest stadium in the NFL, after FedExField outside Washington, D.C., currently the largest stadium in the league with a capacity of 91,704. However, the New Cowboys Stadium outside Dallas, Texas, which plans to have a capacity of 80,000, is planned to be expandable to 100,000 with additional end zone seating.

[edit] Design

Construction of the New Meadowlands Stadium as seen from Giants Stadium, 12/9/07.

The new stadium the Jets and the Giants are scheduled to occupy in 2010 will be distinguished by an outer skin of aluminum louvers and by interior lighting that will switch colors depending on which team is playing at home – a technique originated at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.The special louvers and the associated hanging system have been custom designed by Overgaard Ltd., Hong Kong who is also supplying all materials for this. The total linear amount of louvers is roughly 50.000 meters (50 Kilometers) or 163,680 feet (31 miles).

There will be numerous tailgating zones, and myriad options to buy food and merchandise in the plaza that will ring the stadium.

The changing colors — blue for the Giants, green for the Jets — reflect each team’s desire to individualize the look of the 82,500-seat stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The teams’ current home, Giants Stadium, opened in 1976, but the Jets have long felt like a second-class tenant there since arriving in 1984. The louvers in the new stadium, which are arranged in various densities, may also reflect the teams’ colors.

According to renderings of the Jets-Giants stadium obtained by The New York Times, giant red pylons at the north and east entrances will display videos of each team, depending on which one is playing.

A signature feature of the stadium — which will be built in the shape of a rounded rectangle — will be the massive Great Wall that will be partly visible through the louvers at the main entrance.

The wall will be 400 feet long and 40 feet high, showing panels of images that will rotate between photographic murals of the Jets and Giants on game days and different pictures for concerts and other events.

Inside, four 40-by-130-foot scoreboards will hang from each corner of the upper deck.

The sight lines will be similar to those at Giants Stadium, which seats a little over 80,000, but in some cases seats will be farther away because the new facility will have more than double the square footage. The stadium complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and it will have four restaurants, nearly double the current 117 luxury suites, and 9,200 club seats, two club lounges, wider concourses and at least one hall of fame.^[1] The Giants team offices will be located in the stadium, as they have been in Giants Stadium.

Unlike a number of other new NFL venues such as the new Cowboys Stadium, University of Phoenix Stadium and Reliant Stadium, the new Meadowlands stadium will not have a roof. Proposals to include a roof failed due to a dispute over funding.^[2] Therefore, it is unlikely the Super Bowl could be held in this venue due to northern New Jersey's winter climate and indoor events such as the Final Four will not be held at the facility, which runs counter to the original aims for a new stadium in northern New Jersey.^[3]

[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.^[4] Based on the teams' histories, this clause presumably allows the Jets to eventually decide that they want to play in their own stadium and leave if they can find a way to finance it, although the high cost of the stadium and relocation of team facilities to New Jersey makes this unlikely. 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)^[5]

[edit] Transportation

A rail spur will be constructed by New Jersey Transit from the Pascack Valley Line to provide rail service to Hoboken Terminal and to Pennsylvania Station via the Secaucus Junction.^[6]

[edit] See also

• Meadowlands Xanadu - An entertainment complex to be built at the Meadowlands Sports Complex
• Prudential Center - A new arena in Newark for the New Jersey Devils that opened in October 2007.
• Barclays Center - A proposed arena in Brooklyn, New York for the New Jersey Nets
• Red Bull Park - A soccer-specific stadium under construction for Red Bull New York
• Giants Stadium - Current venue for the New York Giants and New York Jets.
• New Yankee Stadium - A new stadium in Bronx, NY under construction for the New York Yankees
• Citi Field - A new stadium in Queens, NY under construction for the New York Mets
• West Side Stadium - A proposed stadium to be built for the New York Jets, however this plan was scrapped.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• New Meadowlands Stadium construction webcam
• New Meadowlands Stadium Website
• Stadiums of the NFL
• NEW MEADOWLANDS STADIUM PROJECT SCOPING DOCUMENT
• Giants, Jets receive financial aid.
• New Meadowlands Stadium photos at JetKingdom.com

Coordinates: 40°48′48.50″N, 74°04′27.33″W