If there is ever a time for our shit for brains and tone-deaf owner to correct the mistake he made by agreeing to partner with the Giants that materialized in the blandest and most characterless stadium in the NFL - it is now. The Jets can exit their lease after the 2024 season. Keep the training facility in Florham Park and build a state-of-the-art palace someplace in New York and make sure it is awash in Jets green and white. Can it happen? Will it happen?
I heard this a lot - that's the stadium sucks, etc... However, I don't quite understand why people are complaining over it. I've been there quite a few times. It was fairly easy to drive to and park. Tailgating is very easy: just park the car, get the grill and booze out, and you are on your way. Been to seats and the box, and all was fine. Bought food and drinks at the stadium as well, no issues. The only thing sucks is that there is no roof, and prices are high, but isn't it the case with most stadiums? In NY the prices would be even higher and no tailgating. Stadium to me is fine. The problem is the product on the field. That's what counts for 90% of it. Sharing it with Giants? Who gives a shit? We are there 8 days a year, and these days it's all Jets. Who cares what they do the other times. Would you really feel better if it just stands there unused for 357 days? Make the product on the field better, that my wish.
To think our current stadium is anywhere in the vicinity of other stadiums that have opened after it is laughable. Ugly, too big, no charm, no Jets history to be found anywhere, getting out of the stadium is a nightmare, the concessions are awful and way overpriced, many people leave midway through the 3rd quarter, we share it with another team...do you want me to continue?
Honestly, you are nitpicking here. People leave midway game because the Jets are down by a lot of points. Everything else you mentioned would be even worse in NY and more overpriced. The stadium fits 80,000. Have you been to other stadiums with that many people? It takes some time to get out, but it will not be quick ANYWHERE with that many people in. As far as ugly, not charming - I am sorry, but I come to the stadium to watch the art of playing football, and I am charmed when Jets kick ass. The attractiveness or the building itself architecturally as compared to others, to me it looks fine. I already commented on the point about sharing. We are there 8 days. 8 days!!! There are other 357 days where I don't give a slightest shit how the stadium is used. Just make sure it's clean for the Jets with green colors on game days. And it is pretty clean. I have not heard one solid reason for moving this to NY, where fans would actually benefit. I do see how we cannot tailgate in NY since there is no room for parking lots. How it's going to be even more painful getting out of the City. How the prices will be even worse in NY. Sure grass is greener on the other side, but to me the complains amount to nothing and alternative is ever worse.
I give you credit for being the rare MetLife defender but the stadium sucks. You can say that has no effect on tailgating or game day experience in general and that's fine but these things are not mutually exclusive. It's the blandest billion dollar stadium in the world and if the Jets start winning we won't care at all! Or if Zach Wilson turns into a franchise QB only to have his knee torn out by the turf we'll burn it down ourselves!
It's not that I love the stadium, I guess I am just not artistically inclined to the point where I look at the stadium and say - this is a dump, and say neighboring stadiums of DC, Baltimore, etc, are looking so much better, and are super gorgeous. It's also very subjective. One can say it's big, while another can say it is spacious. To me it's fine, and has all the amenities. The lack of history there is because Jets haven't won meaningful games there in a long time. That would have been the case anywhere else, and I hope it will change soon right here. What actually concerns me is making fans experience worse by moving the Jets to NY. One good tradition this stadium has is great tailgating. That is instantly gone. That's actually a thing that WILL impact fans unlike all the artificial stuff mentioned on this thread against current stadium. In NY the prices are way worse than in NJ. Immediately we will see price hike for everything. NY also has less space. If people are complaining about 80K people going out of NJ or waiting long for food/drinks/bathrooms there, it will be 100 times worse in NY. And guess what, there still won't be any more history there and people will still be leaving early if Jets stink. Would that make me feel better that 357 days when I am not there, it will not be used when while I am there I can't tailgate any more, paying supersized NY prices, and standing in longer lines? Absolutely not, it will be much worse. That's why I say be careful what you wish for. If the Jets want to improve the experience, build a roof to make it better for fans when it rains or super hot, don't take the tailgate away, make us pay NY prices and wait in longer lines by moving to NY.
How you cannot look at Atlanta's stadium, the Rams and Chargers stadium, the Viking's incredible edifice, the on the drawing board new Buffalo Stadium, Miami's remodeled stadium, in addition to a host of others throughout the league, and not ask yourself how we ended up with a facility that has all the charm of a hospital waiting room, I don't know. Now, would the stadium be less of a concern to me if the Jets - when the Jets - start to win consistently? No, however, even if the Jets rip off 5 consecutive AFC titles and a few trips to the Super Bowl, it won't change my opinion of how damn ugly, boring, and vanilla MetLife is. They need to do a total remodel, tear out about 10,000 seats, and do something - anything - to change the environment of the place. It took the Raiders 40 fucking years of wandering in the desert to finally get their own state-of-the-art football stadium. Meanwhile, the Jets have NEVER had their own stadium exclusive to the franchise. It is embarrassing that the practice facility in Flohrem Park kicks the ever-loving shit out of the stadium that they call "home."
Football stadiums are generally pretty utilitarian. Outdoor winter events are hard to make beautiful and pleasant. Stadiums are fighting an uphill battle from the start.
The West Side Stadium was never getting built. Too much political chaff from well-connected real estate interests. The place to build is just north of the city. Good access to central and north Jersey, upstate, LI and Connecticut. The best location would be near 95 and 87 with the Triborough giving access from LI.
Went to MetLife last year for the first time to see the Jets/Philly game. Stadium itself looks bland from the outside and once inside, felt cold and lifeless. The food was awful. Nothing like a cold hotdog to get you going for the home team. The guy on the mike trying to gas up the crowd became annoying by the 3rd qtr. The seats were comfortable and my sightlines were great. That was the only upside. The ride home was challenging as there is no good way out of there unless you're on a train. All in all, not really interested in going to another game anytime soon. MetLife is not even in the same universe as the new LA, Vegas and other modern venues. They have 21st century stadiums. We have MetLife. It is what it is.. As far as location goes, politics killed the Westside stadium. Woody may have had good intentions, but didn't know how to fight bareknuckle NY style and had to settle for the air conditioner in Jersey. The best location for the stadium, IMO, would have been the old Yonkers Raceway site. Plenty of space, rail already in place along with a interstate highway that could have been upgraded to handle the additional traffic. Here's where I blame Woody as it appeared he sulked and acted like a petulant child who didn't get his way. Had he pivoted to another location, he could have easily obtained the land (Even Rockaway) and built the Jets 1st home of their own. As it is, they're still living in the basement of someone else's house. And will be for the foreseeable future.
Near the Yonkers raceway site would be good. It's right on 87 and has relatively easy access to all the other major routes. You just want access to all the major roadways, Metro North and the subways. If you can pull off that trifecta you have the ideal location. The other thing is that you really want to have a hotel and good restaurants in walking distance of the stadium. Ideally you have an airport shuttle service at the hotel and one-stop service for tourists who want to go to a game. You can have the shuttle service sharing space with a bus depot for buses from the casinos in the NE. There's just an enormous amount of money to be made in that type of development in that area. You already have the Empire City casino in the area and that's a positive now that the NFL is hand-in-hand with the legalized gambling interests. Finally, adding in the hotel development and the restaurants allows you to partner with heavy hitters in the hospitality business for added heft in getting the necessary approvals to break ground. It also gives you access to vested interests in the construction industry who are looking to do something other than bite off the hand that feeds them. This all creates a lot of jobs in Yonkers and you should have the city on your side throughout the process.
MetLife Stadium represents the Jets perfectly. Far better than what we were used to but still below NFL standards.
The stadium is bland but I have no problem with it. If the team was winning nobody would care. It's easy to get to and the tailgating is great. We only sit in this place 9 - 10 times a year (counting the 1 or 2 preseason games) and hopefully more if we ever get a playoff game there. Our group usually tailgates again after the game for about an hour or so. When we leave the parking lot is mostly empty and there is no traffic on the roads heading out. It's all about winning. Doesn't matter if its Shea, Giants Stadium, or MetLife just give me a winning football team dammit. I want one Lombardi before I die.
Odd that they have an opt out when the stadium is a joint venture with the Giants. Can the Giants opt out? Maybe they'll both leave which adds MetLife as a third tombstone next to the old race track grandstand and that American Dream Nightmare.
Not going to happen. SoFi stadium was over 5 billion dollars. What do you think something similar is going to cost on NYC metro area? You would need the Giants to be in on it too.
This is what I am befuddled with. You didn't like how the stadium looked and felt (!!!) and give so much weight to that, while the thing that actually matters: ability to comfortably watch the football product with great sights is no big deal. I guess there is always something complain about. For me, I would prefer having comfortable good view of actual product, even if you paint a giant dick on the stadium entrance rather than having what some consider pretty exterior, but then you are uncomfortable inside and don't see the game well. But this underscores my point: things that matter are actually decent at this stadium (except like I said they should have built the roof to make it better for the fans). And it will not feel as cold and lifeless when Jets win. Just hasn't been enough of that lately. And by the way, you will get your cold expensive hot dog in NY too, it will be the same vendor. Only it will be more expensive on the Westside and you will not be able to cook your own food at the tailgate instead.
