Things To Do In New York: Build The Stadium

This post probably should be titled "things we should do in New York". For the future of the city, we must build the West Side Stadium.

Make no mistake, whether or not to build the West Side Stadium is the question of the decade for New Yorkers: should we invest in the future of the city to keep it great or simply rest on the laurels of the Rudy Giuliani administration?

This is this decade's equivalent of Giuliani cleaning up 42nd Street. Building the stadium will show that we as New Yorkers still believe in investing the city and expanding economic opportunity.

Not building it will mean we've given up on making the city better.

Here are some reasons why the stadium should be built (and on the West Side):

- It is a disgrace that the only team that plays in New York State, the third largest in the country, is the Buffalo Bills. I don't care what people say, New Jersey is New Jersey. If the Jets and Giants had any pride being there, they'd have an "NJ" on their helmet. The only reason why they don't call the team the East Rutherford Jets is that the name is about as lame as playing there in the first place.

- With the creation of the NYSCC, New York will finally have the capacity to host the biggest events-from international business gatherings to national championships. Because the stadium will have multiple seating capacities, it will be versatile enough to host a broader range of events (events that cannot currently be hosted in New York City). That means jobs, and a facility that will be used for more than eight games a year.

- Bringing new events to New York City not only means energy and excitement, it also means new visitors whose spending will help to create over $70 million of new tax revenue for the City and State. These events could include annual Bowl Games, a Super Bowl, conventions, the Olympics, NCAA Final Four, and Star Trek conventions (OK, we could do that without the stadium, but not one with William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy on at the same time).

- It will be better for the environment. That's right. Better for the environment. Right now, when an event occurs at the Meadowlands, nearly every visitor - 97% -arrive by car because there is no viable transit alternative. Based on extensive polling of Jets season ticket holders, 70 percent of fans will arrive by public transportation leaving only 30 percent - or 7,000 vehicles - on the road. The West Side stadium will have various forms of public transportation, leading to smaller, less frustrating, and less gas guzzling commutes. The stadium itself will take energy conservation and the environment into account unlike any stadium in the tri-state area.

- Building the stadium in Shea Stadium helps no one. Anyone old enough to remember going to Jets games there will recall jam-packed subway rides on the dilapitated 7 train. Also, there is no service industry there, as it's an area filled with junk yards and auto repair shops. It is also so far out of midtown Manhattan that all of the benefits of having a convention there, one of the main non-football/non-sports uses of the facility, are not valid. The West Side is the only viable place to do it.

- The West Side is the only location in close proximity to nine modes of public transportation. The West Side is the only location which requires zero condemnation or relocation for existing residents and businesses. The West Side is the only location adjacent to the existing Javits Center allowing it to serve as a true multi-use facility instead of a stand alone stadium.

- The project, which includes renovating the Javitz Center, will be connected by an underground walkway, and will create approximately 42,000 construction jobs and close to 16,000 new permanent jobs, on top of the 16,600 jobs currently generated by Javits. The Javits Convention Center expansion and the creation of the New York Sports and Convention Center will contribute $126 million dollars in additional tax revenues annually to the city and state. The development will attract hundreds of thousands of out of town visitors to New York for conventions, tradeshows, cultural and art shows, as well as major sporting events.

Here's the only reason why it should not:

The Jets suck (Just End The Season).


Links of interest:
What if Bruno and Silver were around when other iconic buildings were built?


New York Sports and Convention Center Homepage

West Side Fan Page

West Side Stadium 101

Hudson Yards Coalition


Frequently asked questions, including about taxpayer money and tailgating.

Supporters of the West Side Stadium

Detailed convention plan.