NFL MAKES NO PROMISES ON NYC STADIUM
November 9, 2000
Copyright 2000 MediaVentures
NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue says the league will make no promises about helping to build a new stadium for the Jets in Manhattan, but notes the league does
have a fund that could loan up to $150 million toward stadium projects. The city is considering construction of a $1 billion domed stadium seating 100,000 persons to be
part of the cityÕs convention facilities and to possibly be used for a 2012 Olympic bid. The stadium would also be the home of the Jets who want to move out of the
Meadowlands.
Tagliabue spoke with city officials and the Jets in New York to learn about the cityÕs plan and said that new stadiums are flourishing in other cities.
JETS MAY GET EARLY TICKET TO NEW YORK
October 12, 2000
Copyright 2000 MediaVentures
New York would buy out the Jets' lease at Giants Stadium early and allow the team to move to the city before its lease expires in 2008 under a plan suggested by City
Council President Peter Vallone. The plan would allow the city to move ahead with a new 100,000-seat stadium proposed by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani for Manhattan. Vallone
also suggested that the Jets could move into a renovated Shea Stadium so a new ballpark could be built for the Mets.
The Jets new owner has said he wants to bring the team back to New York and a stadium of its own. The Mets have also sent conflicting signals about whether they
want to build a new stadium. One owner says plans have been abandoned while the other says a new stadium is still a possibility.
Vallone said he didn't know the cost of the buy out, but the Jets' lease requires that the team pay 15% of ticket sales. In 1999, that amounted to $5 million.
From: News and Views | City Beat |
Thursday, September 21, 2000
Rudy Calls Huddle on Stadium
Confers with owner of Jets, NFL commish
By JOE MAHONEY, GARY MYERS and MICHAEL R. BLOOD
Daily News Staff Writers
Mayor Giuliani huddled with Jets owner Woody Johnson and NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue yesterday to discuss bringing the team home to New York — possibly to a domed stadium on Manhattan's West Side.
"Nobody has locked into any specifics at this time, and it is premature to say it is going in any direction. The variables are immense," said one person familiar with the talks. "This is the kind of thing that could change quickly."
Prospects for developing a stadium over the West Side rail yards — which for months appeared stalled — have picked up momentum with a surge of interest by the Jets and the committee hoping to lure the Olympics to New York in 2012.
The Yankees, whose future in the Bronx remains uncertain, also have eyed the site between 10th Ave. and the West Side Highway, from 30th to 33rd Sts.
Yesterday, a Yankee spokesman said the Bombers are still interested in the site and would be open to sharing a stadium there with the Jets.
At City Hall, Giuliani outlined his sweeping vision for a West Side sportsplex anchored by a retractable domed stadium rising above the yards. He predicted that such a stadium would become a cash cow for New York's economy — with or without a pro sports team.
Waving off grumbling about possible congestion, access to the site and funding, Giuliani said the stadium could be home to a baseball or football team, be an Olympics centerpiece and rope in major events and conventions that now elude the city.
"You put up an indoor arena in New York City ... that can hold 50,000 to 100,000 people, you are going to make a fortune," the mayor said."If that includes getting the Jets back, that would be wonderful. ... The main thing is getting the domed, indoor arena."
Johnson, who met for an hour with the mayor at Gracie Mansion last night, sidestepped reporters without comment. "It went very well," Giuliani said of the meeting.
Developing the yards would require cooperation among the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Port Authority, City Hall and Albany.
The rail yards are state property, and Gov. Pataki's office said yesterday he was reviewing proposals to develop the area, including expanding the nearby Jacob Javits Convention Center.
Declining to discuss specifics of the state's involvement in a push to bring the Jets back from the New Jersey Meadowlands, Pataki spokesman Michael McKeon said the governor "is looking at the Olympic committee's and the mayor's proposals."
He added, "The governor has great memories of growing up as a kid and watching the Jets practice in Peekskill ... but that is nothing like having the team back where it belongs — full time in New York State."
Giuliani has talked about bringing his beloved Yankees to the West Side, and the Bronx Bombers signaled yesterday that they're still interested.
Howard Rubenstein, a spokesman for owner George Steinbrenner, said the Yankees could stay in the Bronx, move to the West Side or cross the Hudson to New Jersey when their lease runs out in 2002.
"All the locations are on the front burner," he said. As for sharing a West Side stadium with the Jets, Rubenstein said, "They would be compatible."
Meanwhile, renewed talk of a stadium brought about two dozen activists and politicians to City Hall, where they complained the project would doom the West Side to years of congestion and noise — while shortchanging other city programs.
"Mayor Giuliani is obsessed with stadiums," said state Sen. Thomas Duane (D-Manhattan).
With Lisa L. Colangelo and Frank Lombardi
GOVERNOR
September 30, 1999
Copyright 1999 MediaVentures
Football will be played on grass next year at the Meadowlands. The New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority along with the Jets and Giants have agreed to replace the artificial turf with real grass for the 2000 season. The grass will be installed in trays and maintained by an underground maintenance system. The $3 million change at Giants Stadium is expected to especially please the MLS MetroStars who prefer natural grass. The Authority will pay the estimated $500,000 in annual maintenance. The parties are still negotiating who will pay the cost of installation.
COULD JETS BE THE NEXT TO LEAVE THE MEADOWLANDS?
May 27, 1999
Copyright 1999 MediaVentures
Rumors are circulating that suggest the New York Jets could be the next team to leave The Meadowlands. Both the NHL Devils and NBA Nets say they want Continental Airlines Arena to build new arenas. The Devils were recently joined in their arena effort by media giant Cablevision, which also owns Madison Square Garden, the Rangers and other sports properties. With the Yankees investing in the Nets, some say the Devils and Cablevision may try to acquire the Jets and move them to New York. New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has said he would like to build a new stadium in Manhattan to host the team and possibly ask Cablevision to move Madison Square Garden nearby and manage both venues.
The major hurdle to the deal is an NFL rule that prohibits owners from owning teams in other leagues. The NFL has softened on that rule in recent years and is allowing team owners to invest in Major League Soccer franchises and Arena Football League teams. Both moves, however, allow owners to strengthen individual businesses without creating large sports corporations. A soccer investment allows NFL owners to put their stadiums to use in summer months and help lower operating expenses. The investment in Arena Football is seen as a way of creating a farm system for the NFL.
