http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1141627132111890.xml&coll=1 Corzine wants better stadium terms for state Giants-Jets say a deal is a deal Monday, March 06, 2006 BY MATTHEW FUTTERMAN Star-Ledger Staff The rumblings have made their way up the Turnpike, from Trenton to the Meadowlands: Gov. Jon Corzine does not like the new football stadium deal; he wants more money for the state; more taxes for East Rutherford; and a roof on anything built. Now, a month after get-acquainted meetings among Corzine and owners of the Jets and Giants, state officials say they soon will send new demands to the teams that could jeopardize the NFL's future in New Jersey. While Giants and Jets officials say they are willing to revisit a few minor issues, the time for changing the game plan through further negotiations has passed. A deal, they say, is a deal. "Negotiations for the new Meadowlands stadium took more than a year to complete and culminated in an agreement more favorable to the state of New Jersey and the taxpayers than any stadium deal ever," Alice McGillion, a spokeswoman for the Jets-Giants stadium partnership, said in a statement. "We are anxious to begin construction as soon as possible and are working with Gov. Corzine's office to achieve that." Anthony Coley, the governor's chief spokesman, said Corzine and his team were still examining the deal -- "scrubbing the numbers" is the way Corzine likes to put it -- and will announce changes he plans to pursue at the appropriate time. The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, the agency that operates the Meadowlands, declined to comment. Just how plans for an 80,000-seat football stadium ended up in a state of bureaucratic purgatory is part of a pattern that has plagued major sports and entertainment projects in New Jersey, including a hockey arena in downtown Newark and the Xanadu complex at the Meadowlands, both in early stages of construction. "What's problematic in New Jersey is there were people who were against the stadium deal when it was originally done who are still there," said Marc Ganis, a top sports facilities consultant who spent two frustrating years negotiating a deal for the Newark arena. "You never had everybody (within the administration) reading off the same page." The stadium saga began 16 months ago when Richard Codey replaced former Gov. James E. McGreevey and made a deal for a new football stadium a priority. The current structure is 30 years old and does not produce as much revenue for the teams or provide the same level of amenities as more modern stadiums. Last April, Codey and the Giants signed a memorandum of understanding, known as an MOU, that cleared the way for the team to spend $900 million to build and operate a new home at the sports complex. The Giants would pay the state $5 million a year for 75 acres where they would build the stadium and related development, including restaurants, stores and training facilities. The team would pay the town of East Rutherford $1.3 million a year in lieu of property taxes because the land is state-owned. The Jets entered the picture in June, after their plans to move to the West Side of Manhattan collapsed. The team decided to pursue a partnership with the Giants for the Meadowlands stadium. In September, Codey allowed the Jets to sign onto the plan without a guaranteed increase in rent or property taxes the teams will pay. Now, according to three top state officials, Corzine wants an increase in rent and property tax payments. He also wants to make the teams build a $100 million roof so the stadium could host a Super Bowl and the Final Four college basketball tournament. The teams have resisted paying for a roof because they say it wouldn't produce enough extra revenue to cover costs. State officials said Corzine would consider giving in on the roof if he can extract more cash from the teams. At the same time, East Rutherford Mayor James Casella said last week his borough wants at least $8 million a year in property taxes -- six times what the teams originally agreed to. "I question whether the sports authority alone has the right to negotiate a property tax agreement with the teams," Casella said. "You have private enterprises building the stadium and all this retail and offices that are going to be a part of this. We never were approached about what would be reasonable for them to pay." Industry experts say the main tenets of a deal rarely change from an MOU that is typically 15 to 30 pages to a final development agreement that is often several hundred pages. "The material economic terms typically remain very close to the MOU," Ganis said. For the football teams, time is crucial, and state officials understand the more they delay, the more desperate the teams could become to finalize the deal. Each year the Giants and Jets play in the existing stadium is another year they will not collect a projected $183 million in total revenue from a new, yet-to-be-named stadium. That is more than double what each team now collects in stadium-related revenue. A new stadium would take about three years to build. If talks drag again, the teams may have to push back the projected opening to 2011. Codey said he has discussed the stadium agreement with Corzine and remains confident the governor's desire to "tweak" the deal would not wreck it. "It all depends on your definition of 'tweak,'" Codey said. "But this deal got universal praise in the state. If Jon wants to tweak it, that's fine -- of course, he can. But I'm confident it won't blow up. I don't want that, and he doesn't want that." __________________
This isn't really likely to stop the deal. You guys who think the Jets screwed you over by building the stadium in NJ can read what you want into it, but don't be disapointed when it stays in NJ. The deal is 99% done.
I think if Woody is smart (and we know he isn't) he should walk away and see what the city and state of New York can offer. What I would like to see happen and I know this a pipe dream is the Jets go back to Queens. I might be wrong, but aren't the Mets building their own stadium? If so, why not buy Shea Stadium and renovate it.
The plan for the new Nassau Colesium is due this week. Fred Wilpon is getting involved with it. Maybe he will decide to toss his hat in the ring and attempt to get the Jets to co-fund the new Met's project. I know it's a long-shot, but I continue to hope, and there is nothing wrong with that.
It's almost impossible now, but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for this thing to fall through...
Woody only wanted the WSS. He was never willing to listen to anything else. Jay Cross even said publicly that if the WSS fell through, the Jets would definitely be staying in NJ. It was no surprise. The difference now is, if NJ starts making it cost more for the Jets to stay, it could make NY more appealing again. Again, this is so far on the fringe of possiblity it doesn't really warrant discussion, but it is still fun to dream a little bit. Not unlike those who still have Reggie Bush dancing in their dreams.
Correct. In fact, after the WSS fell through and a few weeks later the Jets made the deal with the Giants, some Queens politician was quoted as saying the Jets never approached Queens and that if they did Queens would listen. Cross is a jerk. The guy was brought in for one purpose and now deal #2 may fall through. Some guy that worked for him........he sat at our table once at the Jets tailgate in the bubble. He kept saying how great the WS would be, how you can take the train, blah blah blah. So I said, 'We like to drive, will there be ANY parking at the new stadium'? The guy just kept ignoring the question, so I kept asking it. Finally, after the third or fourth time, he admitted there would be 'limited' parking.
1) Corzine would make himself immensely unpopular if he chased the Jets away from this deal. He may be an arrogant SOB but he's not stupid and he is the consumate politician. He'll "tweak" the deal just enough to flex his political muscle, then appear the winner when he announces what a "great deal" he got for the state after he alone was able to "improve" it. He wants to put his own stamp on it and be able to take credit for it. 2) The Jets/Giants already have a basic deal with NJ, signed into effect by then-acting governor Cody. If Corzine tampers enough with the deal by now throwing in unreasonable demands, he basically reneges on the basic premises of the original contract and risks joint lawsuit by the Jets AND the Giants for breach of contract. The state would probably lose and have to pay considerable damages, not to mention how many Jets AND Giants fans would be thoroughly pissed at him as both football fans and taxpayors. The deal will go through.
I don't disagree with your post, but one thing. Most Jet fans would be delighted, because most Jets fans live on Long Island & in Queens. It's an awful thing Woody did, moving the team to Jersey to save a buck.
Gator, we argued this ad nauseum last summer. It's just not as simple as Woody "moving the team to Jersey to save a buck." Without getting too detailed, the WSS deal collapsed under it's own political weight (Woody had nothing to do with that) and the Queens was never really a viable option because of room and traffic considerations. In the end, the Giants' offer to do a joint deal for a state-of-the-art NFL joint showplace won out. By the way, I disagree with your opinion that "most Jets fans live on Long Island and in Queens." This may have been true at one time, but it's been 20+ years since the Jets played at Shea and I'd be willing to bet that much of the geographic fan base has slowly shifted to the west over the years.
