New Meadowlands Stadium -

Address: 50 State Highway 120
              East Rutherford, New Jersey 07073

Home of: New York Giants (NFL)
              New York Jets (NFL)
              Big City Classic Lacrosse Event

Date opened: April 10, 2010 (scheduled)

Capacity: 82,500

Cost: $1.4 billion (estimated)

New Meadowlands Stadium is a football stadium in 50 State Highway 120, East Rutherford, New Jersey 07073. It is the home of the New York Giants and New York Jets of the National Football League. The stadium is replacing Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex, which was home to the Giants since 1976 and the Jets since 1984. Like its predecessor, the new stadium will be the only NFL stadium shared by two teams. However, unlike Giants Stadium in which the Jets were a junior partner, the new stadium will be a 50/50 partnership between both NFL teams. The stadium is administered by the New Meadowlands Stadium Company, LLC. Meadowlands Stadium will open on April 10, 2010 when it features the Big City Classic lacrosse tournament. Bon Jovi will perform the first concerts at the stadium on May 26, 27 and 29, 2010.

Before Giants Stadium was built, the New York Giants played their home games in Yankee Stadium, a baseball park with only adequate functions as a football stadium. Neither team liked the idea of a football team on a baseball field, especially since the football didn’t start until the Yankees had finished their season and essentially run down the field, the Giants signed a 30-year lease for the new building in 1971. The seats of the stadium completely encircle the field and are broken into three distinct tiers. As with most stadiums in the NFL, two scoreboard/video boards are located behind each end zone. In 1984, the New York Jets moved into the stadium to avoid having to continue to play in Shea Stadium, also a baseball field for the New York Mets. The field has an Astroturf surface from 1976-1999, but after the 1999 season, the turf was ripped out and replaced with natural grass. The grass only lasted three seasons and was then replaced by Fieldturf, the newest innovation in surfacing.

The new stadium, Meadowlands Stadium will have seating for 82,500 fans, including 10,005 club seats and approximately 218 luxury suites, making it the second largest NFL stadium in total seating after FedEx Field.

Meadowlands Stadium, which will be home to the New York Giants and New York Jets, is scheduled to open in April 10, 2010. The stadium will be distinguished by an outer skin of aluminum louvers and by interior lighting that will switch colors depending on which team is playing at home — a technique originated at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, which is shared between two Football clubs. The changing colors — blue for the Giants, green for the Jets, red for a concert, and white for other events — reflect each team’s desire to individualize the look of the stadium.