New Meadowlands Stadium

New Meadowlands Stadium is the home of the New York Giants and New York Jets of the National Football League and is adjacent to the site of the former Giants Stadium, which was home to the Giants from 1976 until 2009 and the Jets from 1984 until 2010. Like its predecessor, the new stadium is the only NFL stadium shared by two teams. However, unlike Giants Stadium in which the Jets were a junior partner, the new stadium is a 50/50 partnership between both NFL teams, but the rights will be given to the 2010 season predecor, and while the stadium is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority on paper, the two teams jointly built the stadium using private funds, and administer it jointly through New Meadowlands Stadium Corporation.

	Capacity		82,566
	Opened		2010 (scheduled)
	Owner		New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
	Architect		Skanska AB, 360 Architecture

New Meadowlands Stadium opened on April 10, 2010 when it featured the Big City Classic lacrosse event. At a construction cost of approximately $1.6 billion, it is the most expensive sports stadium ever built.

On May 25, 2010, it was announced that Super Bowl XLVIII was awarded to this stadium, the first time a Super Bowl would be played in the New York metropolitan area, and the first time that a non-domed stadium in the northern United States would host the biggest American football game in the professional ranks.

The stadium is distinguished by an outer skin of aluminum louvers and by interior lighting that switches colors depending on which team is playing at home. Essentially, unlike Giants Stadium, New Meadowlands can easily be converted from a Giants game to a Jets game within a matter of hours or vise versa. This is a technique originated at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, which is shared between the city’s two major football (soccer) teams, Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich. The special louvers and the associated hanging system were custom designed and manufactured by Architectural Wall Systems of Des Moines, Iowa, and Overgaard Ltd. of Hong Kong. The total linear amount of louvers is exactly 50,000 meters (50 kilometers) or 163,681 feet (31.1 miles). Front row 50 yard line seats are 46 feet (14 m) away from the sideline, which is the shortest distance of all NFL Stadiums. The actual changing of the field decorations is about an 18 hour process that involves two 4-man crews rolling up 40 sections of FieldTurf that make up the teams’ respective endzones.

Unlike a number of other new NFL venues, New Meadowlands Stadium does not have a roof, as proposals to include a roof failed due to a dispute over funding. Thus, indoor events such as the Final Four cannot be held at the facility, which runs counter to the original aims for a new stadium in northern New Jersey.

Twenty giant high-definition-ready light emitting diode (LED) pylons designed, manufactured and installed by Daktronics at the north and east entrances display videos of each team, depending on which is playing. The pylons measure approximately 54 feet (16 m) high by 20 feet (6.1 m) wide. Inside, four 30 feet (9.1 m) by 116 feet (35 m) video displays from Daktronics, which incorporate high definition video technology, hang from each corner of the upper deck.

(source .. wikipedia) reproduced under GFDL

[ Anything to add? Spotted an error? Click here to improve this entry ]

New Meadowlands Stadium wikipedia entry
New stadium official website
New York Giants website
New York Jets website
Big Blue Interactive Giants Fansite
Jets Insider Fansite
NYJetsFan.com Fansite

[ Anything to add? Spotted an error? Click here to improve this entry ]

Leave a comment!