EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The New York Giants have reached an agreement with the state of New Jersey to build a new $750 million stadium that will keep the team up to date with high-revenue NFL franchises.
The deal, reached by the team and the state after contentious negotiations, provides for a new 80,000 seat stadium close to the current one in the Meadowlands. It is slated to open for the 2008 season.
The deal seemed dead a few weeks ago, with both sides far apart on finances and the scope of the project. But several days of talks this week between acting Gov. Richard J. Codey and John Mara, the Giants' chief operating officer, paved the way for "an agreement that will keep the Giants here in New Jersey, where they belong," the governor said Thursday.
"We were the first team here," Mara said. "It was always our desire to stay."
Giants Stadium opened in 1976. The New York Jets, who are hoping to build their own new stadium on the West Side of Manhattan, joined them there in 1984.
The Giants will pay the entire cost of construction, manage the facility and keep all profits.
Despite playing in a major market, they are only in the low-middle among NFL teams in revenue although the new stadium would undoubtedly move them close to the top. Revenue sharing between high-revenue and low-revenue teams is currently a major issue of contention among NFL owners.
The Giants will pay $6.3 million a year to New Jersey in rent and taxes. The state is responsible for as much as $30 million in roadwork and still will be responsible for $124 million in debt that remains on the existing stadium.
The new stadium will have a different name - the team plans to sell naming rights to the new building.
Mara said if the Jets are unable to build their new stadium, they would be welcome to again join the Giants. He said he has met with Jets owner Woody Johnson and team president Jay Cross to talk about contingency plans in case either team's new plan falls through.
Mara and Carl Goldberg, chairman of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, said the priority now is to reach an agreement with the developers of the massive Xanadu entertainment-retail complex at the Meadowlands. The Giants want Xanadu closed on days of home games because Mara said they believe added traffic would make transportation near the stadium extremely difficult before and after games.
The new stadium is to include a Giants Hall of Fame, theme restaurants and more bathrooms than the current facility. Luxury suites - one of the prime moneymakers for teams - will increase from the present 118 to 200, and premium club seating will drastically expand from the current 120 seats to between 8,000 and 10,000 seats, Mara said. The team has not decided on those seating prices yet, he said.
Mara said the Giants do not plan to ask current season-ticket holders to purchase personal seat licenses to help pay for the building. But he refused to rule out such a request down the road.
"We would like to have the ability to finance this without having to sell PSLs," he said. "It's not part of our financing plan. Whether it becomes a part in the future, I can't say."
Such licenses have become a common financial tool for professional sports teams looking to defray the cost of building new facilities, and can range as high as several thousand dollars. The licenses are sold for one-time payments that give ticket holders the right to purchase season tickets at a new facility.
The deal seemed dead a few weeks ago, with both sides far apart on finances and the scope of the project. But several days of talks this week between acting Gov. Richard J. Codey and John Mara, the Giants' chief operating officer, paved the way for "an agreement that will keep the Giants here in New Jersey, where they belong," the governor said Thursday.
"We were the first team here," Mara said. "It was always our desire to stay."
Giants Stadium opened in 1976. The New York Jets, who are hoping to build their own new stadium on the West Side of Manhattan, joined them there in 1984.
The Giants will pay the entire cost of construction, manage the facility and keep all profits.
Despite playing in a major market, they are only in the low-middle among NFL teams in revenue although the new stadium would undoubtedly move them close to the top. Revenue sharing between high-revenue and low-revenue teams is currently a major issue of contention among NFL owners.
The Giants will pay $6.3 million a year to New Jersey in rent and taxes. The state is responsible for as much as $30 million in roadwork and still will be responsible for $124 million in debt that remains on the existing stadium.
The new stadium will have a different name - the team plans to sell naming rights to the new building.
Mara said if the Jets are unable to build their new stadium, they would be welcome to again join the Giants. He said he has met with Jets owner Woody Johnson and team president Jay Cross to talk about contingency plans in case either team's new plan falls through.
Mara and Carl Goldberg, chairman of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, said the priority now is to reach an agreement with the developers of the massive Xanadu entertainment-retail complex at the Meadowlands. The Giants want Xanadu closed on days of home games because Mara said they believe added traffic would make transportation near the stadium extremely difficult before and after games.
The new stadium is to include a Giants Hall of Fame, theme restaurants and more bathrooms than the current facility. Luxury suites - one of the prime moneymakers for teams - will increase from the present 118 to 200, and premium club seating will drastically expand from the current 120 seats to between 8,000 and 10,000 seats, Mara said. The team has not decided on those seating prices yet, he said.
Mara said the Giants do not plan to ask current season-ticket holders to purchase personal seat licenses to help pay for the building. But he refused to rule out such a request down the road.
"We would like to have the ability to finance this without having to sell PSLs," he said. "It's not part of our financing plan. Whether it becomes a part in the future, I can't say."
Such licenses have become a common financial tool for professional sports teams looking to defray the cost of building new facilities, and can range as high as several thousand dollars. The licenses are sold for one-time payments that give ticket holders the right to purchase season tickets at a new facility.
The Citizens' Say
There are No comments posted.