Jets Owner Robert Wood Johnson IV traveled to St. Louis on October 1 to visit the TWA Dome to "see how the Midwest city was doing with its plan to use a 66,000-seat domed football stadium as a means to expand its smallish convention center," according to Richard Wilner of the N.Y. POST, who writes that Johnson may want to use that example for a new Jets stadium in N.Y. Johnson "knows the only way his team will ever play home games in Manhattan is to pitch the idea" as part of an expansion plan for the Jacob Javits Center. Meanwhile, Jets Development President Jay Cross has hired about ten stadium consultants who "know city and state politics, development issues and local concerns," to help lead the effort (N.Y. POST, 12/13). FAVORABLE SURVEY: A poll commissioned by Jets Development and jointly conducted by polling firms Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates and John McLaughlin & Associates between November 15-19 found that a majority of New Yorkers favor bringing the 2012 Olympics to N.Y. They also support a stadium for the Jets as part of the Javits Center expansion. The poll interviewed 800 NY residents and has a margin of error of +/- 3.46%. The poll found that 63% of New Yorkers support the project, including 72% of Long Islanders, 63% of upstate residents and 61% of those who live on the West Side. Other results include: 69% of New Yorkers were more likely to support funding for the project knowing that the Jets will pay their fair share of the cost of the Javits Center expansion; 70% of those who attend one or more Jets games per year said they would take public transportation to the new stadium (Jets Development LLC).
