Final Design Shown for New Jets, Giants Field

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ-Site work has been going on since April, but yesterday’s groundbreaking made it official: construction has formally started for the new $1.3-billion stadium that the NFL’s Giants and Jets will share at the Meadowlands Sports Complex here. The event also gave the teams, NFL and state officials a chance to unveil final design plans for the 82,500-seat venue, slated for completion in 2010.

Public officials, including Gov. Jon Corzine, were present because the state owns the land. The Giants and Jets will co-own and jointly operate the facility under a long-term ground lease with the state. The current Giants Stadium, which dates to 1976, is owned by the state via the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority and leased by the two teams. The Giants have been there since the beginning, and the Jets moved in as co-tenant in 1984. Once the new venue is completed, the existing facility will be demolished and replaced by parking lots.

“Every aspect of a Sunday at the stadium will be radically different before fans even step inside,” said Jets’ owner Woody Johnson at yesterday’s event. “To begin with, improved highway access and redesigned parking lots will make the trip more efficient.”