Initial Costs For New Meadowlands Stadium Could Reach $1B

Giants, Jets Unveil Preliminary Master Plan For Meadowlands Stadium

A preliminary master site plan was unveiled yesterday for the 81,000-seat stadium for the Giants and Jets, and by the time it opens in 2010, the facility “likely will have cost the teams more than $1[B],” about $200M more than original estimates, according to Ralph Vacchiano of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. Jets President Jay Cross said that the current cost projections are “north of $900[M].” Cross: “We’re hoping it’s not too far north of $1[B], but it’s still far away.” Cross added that the “longer it takes ... the more it will cost because ‘construction prices in this region are wildly outpacing inflation.’” Giants Exec VP & COO John Mara said that the “spiraling costs might force the teams to consider selling” PSLs. Mara: “I’m not going to rule it out at this point. Obviously it’s not something that I’ve been particularly fond of” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/13).

STADIUM DETAILS: Mara said that he was “not opposed to building a stadium with a retractable roof or a building equipped to hold a temporary roof, but he is concerned about the cost.” Mara: “With any kind of roof you’re talking about at least $200[M]” (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 12/13). Both teams said that building a roof “would depend on whether the NFL agreed to double the usual $150[M] allocation for a team building a stadium in a major city.” In N.Y., Charles Bagli reports the stadium will have as many as 200 luxury suites, up from 117 in Giants Stadium, though Cross said that the teams “had not settled on the configuration of the stadium bowl.”

Jets Eager To Integrate Xanadu Complex With Stadium

New Jersey Transportation Commissioner John Lettiere said that the stadium “would be accompanied by” $225M in road improvements, and that a new train station would be built (N.Y. TIMES, 12/13). In Westchester, Ernie Palladino reports the teams “are looking at 30 to 40 designs for the seating bowl.” Two teams of architects are working on a final design, and “all that has been decided upon is the 360-degree configuration of the seating. Most club seats and luxury boxes will be located on the sidelines” (Westchester JOURNAL NEWS, 12/13).

BRIDGE WORK? In New Jersey, John Brennan reports the Jets “have expressed eagerness to integrate” the Xanadu complex with the stadium, “perhaps via a retail-laden pedestrian bridge,” but Mara said that such plans “have a long way to go.” Mara: “The question is, who’s going to pay for it, because such a bridge would be extremely expensive” (Bergen RECORD, 12/13).