Far West Side Redevelopment

[Scott]

A rendering of the proposed stadium in Manhattan that would be the home of the Jets and the linchpin of a bid for the 2012 Summer Games.

SPORTS OF THE TIMES

Jets' Plans Can't Depend on the Olympics

By GEORGE VECSEY

The Link to the story

Published: December 9, 2003

...In 1994, Daniel L. Doctoroff, then a money manager, began his eloquent campaign for an Olympic stadium that would foster development on the West Side. (Whether a gigantic stadium, hunkering alongside the Hudson River, is good for the people and the ambience of the West Side is quite another issue.)

Coming on board in 2000, the Jets have offered $800 million to build the New York Sports and Convention Center (puh-leeze, not a stadium) that would be the linchpin of an Olympic bid.

"There's been an evolution, but not a change in thinking," said Doctoroff, now a deputy mayor of New York, who called the Jets' involvement "a happy coincidence."

[turlough]

That's nice very nice I really like it it's very modern looking from the staduims now

[Allan]

Cool. I like it!

[Buffalo Boy]

from http://www.stadiumsofnfl.com/

After playing at a stadium with another team for their entire existence, the New York Jets may one day have a stadium of there own. In conjunction with New York City trying to land the 2012 Olympics, the Jets will probably get a new stadium if the city is awarded the Olympics. If built the stadium would have 75,000 seats, a retractable roof, and built on Manhattan's west side. It would incorporate sustainable design technology through use of solar panels, wind turbines, and hydroelectric technology to supply energy to the stadium and to the surrounding city grid. As part of the continued redevelopment of the west side, the stadium would be built on a deck over the west side rail yards, adjacent to the historic Highline. It would have an extensive public plaza called the

[Allan]

Thanks for the additional info. And welcome to the forum, Buffalo Boy!

[monsoon]

[Cotuit]

I'm against the West Side Stadium. It requires too much money from the city and the state. Why can't these teams finance their own stadiums?

[tocoto]

I like the idea of being able to arrive at the game by ocean liner.

[M. Brown]

I cant wait to see it when its finnished.

[Scott]

West Side Stadium Plans Unveiled Amid Praise and Protest

By KIRK SEMPLE

New York Times

Published: March 25, 2004

Times article

ity and state officials formally unveiled an ambitious $2.8 billion development proposal for the far west side of Manhattan today that would nearly double the size of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and include a 75,000-seat stadium for the New York Jets.

At a press conference that had the tone of a pep rally, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said the new complex would generate thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in revenue for the city, as well as revitalize a forlorn section of midtown Manhattan.

"It's about our future," he declared. He said the project would make the neighborhood "the premiere destination of 21st century New York."

Mayor Bloomberg, who was joined today by Gov. George E. Pataki and other officials, said the stadium would be an essential component of the city's bid to lure the 2012 Summer Olympics. Planners hope to begin construction by next spring and finish the project in 2010.

But for all the enthusiasm of its boosters, the development project faces several high hurdles, including environmental assessments, zoning approvals and almost-certain legal challenges.

Some neighborhood residents and local officials have criticized the plan as a waste of taxpayers' money and a recipe for traffic nightmares, and have mobilized a lobby to block the project.

John Fisher, spokesman for a coalition of community groups opposing the plan, called today's announcement "nothing more than hype in search of substance." He said in a statement that the proposed project would have "adverse ripple impacts throughout all of Manhattan."

Another opposition coalition that says it supports the convention center expansion but not the stadium, held a rally today at a community park within view of the convention center. They accused the city of subsidizing a sports team at the expense of schools, health care and other public needs that have suffered because of cuts in the city's budget.

"It's not a plan for our neighborhood, it's a plan for the Jets," Councilmember Christine Quinn, who represent's the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, said at the rally. She was among several local and state officials who attended the rally, organized by the Hell's Kitchen/Hudson Yards Alliance, a neighborhood organization.

"The mayor and the governor are trying to package a popular Javits expansion into an unpopular football stadium," said Anna Levin, a leader of the Alliance. "We want sensible economic development in this area, but this is certainly not what we have in mind."

Opponents also say the stadium will displace working-class residents, and most everyone from all sides of the debate predicts there will be lawsuits.

Mr. Pataki said the expanded convention center and new stadium would help create more than 15,000 jobs for the city and provide more than 500,000 days of additional hotel bookings per year.

"It's going to mean economic growth, exciting growth," he said.

Calling himself "one of those long-suffering Jets fans," the governor said the stadium would finally return the football team to Manhattan; it played games at the Polo Grounds until 1963.

"We will have a home to bring the Jets back from New Jersey, and pro football back to New York City," he declared. The Jets quarterback, Chad Pennington, also attended the ceremony today.

As the centerpiece of the Olympic proposal, the stadium would serve as the site of the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the track and field competition, Mayor Bloomberg said.

The city is eager to move the projects forward now, in part, because it wants to show some progress before the International Olympic Committee meets in May to pare its list of candidates for the 2012 Games. The committee will make its final decision in July 2005.

The Jets want to start construction next year so they can move into their new home by their current lease expires in 2008.

The new stadium, to be built over rail yards, is viewed as a significant element in creating a half-mile "convention corridor" that will stretch along 11th Avenue from 30th to 40th Streets.

The stadium would be financed with $300 million each from the city and state, $800 million from the Jets and the remainder from other private sources. The stadium would be built over the rail yards bound by 11th and 12th Avenues, between 30th and 34th Streets.

The $600 million from the state and city would pay for the retractable roof and the platform on which the stadium would be built.

The Jets would also pay an undetermined rent to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which owns the rail yards, according to executives on both sides. The transit agency is also close to an agreement with the city over compensation for the use of the yards, state and city officials said.

The Javits expansion would be financed by $300 million each from the city and the state; $500 million from a temporary $1.50-per-night hotel tax; and the refinancing of the bonds on the Javits.

Opinions vary on the city's Olympic chances, but real estate and business leaders favor the redevelopment of the far West Side. The city is in the process of rezoning the neighborhood to encourage the development of 30 million square feet of office space over the next 30 years. It also wants to extend the No. 7 subway line west from Times Square underneath 41st Street to 11th Avenue and then south to 34th Street.

Officials said today that the expansion of Javits center north from 38th to 40th Streets would provide more exhibition space and meeting rooms, and would therefore be able to attract larger conventions and present more than one trade show at a time.

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[savethewtc]

Huge Rendering

[NYguy]

More great renderings....

http://westsidestadium.org/

[NYguy]

Daily News...

Jets toss lifeline to the High Line

By MICHAEL SAUL

The Jets plan to tear down a piece of the High Line elevated railway and then rebuild a portion as an entrance to a new West Side stadium, the Daily News has learned.

The Jets also propose to link the abandoned 1.45-mile line to a new park created above the West Side Highway.

The team plans to dismantle about a quarter-mile of the line and rebuild half that section to connect to the proposed 75,000-seat football stadium.

The High Line, built in the 1930s to remove dangerous trains from Manhattan's streets, spans 22 blocks from 34th St. to Gansevoort St. No trains have run on it since 1980.

Below the line on 30th St. between 11th and 12th Aves., the Jets are proposing a new street market that would feature art, antiques, crafts and furniture.

The Jets' plans for the High Line will be formally unveiled today at a day-long Regional Plan Association forum on the far West Side.

In March, Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Pataki announced a $2.8 billion plan to build a stadium for the football team and expand the Javits Convention Center, including $1.3 billion in public funding.

Last year, city officials announced an ambitious plan to transform the rail line into an elevated park. Jets executives said their proposal complements that plan.

"We think that the New York Sports and Convention Center can breathe new life into the High Line," said Thad Sheely, the Jets' vice president for development.

The proposal has some strong backers.

"We're pleased that the New York Jets have recognized the value of the High Line and made its preservation and reuse a priority," said Robert Hammond, co-founder of the Friends of the High Line.

But City Councilwoman Christine Quinn (D-Chelsea), who is against the stadium, called the Jets' High Line proposal "a drop in the bucket."

Brian Hatch, who runs NewYorkGames.org, which also opposes the stadium, said the High Line should be preserved in its entirety. "When we get the stadium moved to Queens, we can come up with a plan for that area that will preserve the High Line," he said.

[NYguy]

NY Post...

'SMART TICKET' FOR NEW STADIUM

April 19, 2004 -- Tickets to a Jets game in the lavish new stadium proposed for the West Side will be good for far more than just admission.

Team President Jay Cross said plans are in the works to create a game ticket that can also be swiped at turnstiles for a round-trip ride on the MTA's transit lines, including the Long Island Rail Road.

In fact, the ticket will be embedded with computer coding so that it can act as a charge or debit card that fans can use to ring up hot dogs, beer, souvenirs or even a meal at one of the five swanky restaurants planned for the stadium.

"We hope the ticket will be a 'smart ticket' and with it the building becomes cashless," Cross said.

MTA spokesman Tom Kelly said he was not aware of any formal talks with the team to produce a new electronic ticket that could be used for transit fares.

Critics of the stadium proposal have cited increased traffic as one of their many objections to the $1.4 billion project. Any plan by the Jets to get fans to use mass transit instead of driving to the games could help reduce traffic fears.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

TRULY A SUPER BOWL

By TOM TOPOUSIS

April 19, 2004

This is definitely not your father's football stadium.

The new Jets stadium proposed for the far West Side of Manhattan has more bells and whistles than all the referees in the NFL.

From its exterior design, soaring 300-foot walls of exposed steel beams topped by 34 energy-producing wind turbines, to an interior filled with restaurants, shops and even a theater and museum, the stadium plan is beyond state of the art.

The Post got an exclusive preview of the designs for the $1.4 billion stadium and exposition center, finding a project that almost makes football an afterthought.

And that's how the Jets want it.

Jets President Jay Cross described the project as "a convention center that also holds football games."

But the design goes even further.

The stadium is intended to have four distinct public sides with entirely different roles, from a high-energy commercial and entertainment face on 11th Avenue to a more relaxed, park-like function by the river.

Designed by the New York-based firm of Fox, Pederson and Kohn, the stadium's exterior harks back to the city's industrial waterfront.

The north and south walls are inspired by the tall gantries that once sat atop working piers.

And the stadium's layout was shifted by the architects to run east-west, also as a reminder of the piers that once jutted westward into the river.

Cross said the architects were careful to create a building that could be "a transition piece" between the very different neighborhoods of Clinton in the north and Chelsea to the south.

"We hope to form the connective tissue," he said.

Most spectators will head into the stadium from entrances on 33rd and 30th streets.

The north side of the stadium will include a blockwide "porch" that will run directly to the Hudson River Park.

Cross said the southern side of the stadium will have a very different feel.

The Jets plan to convert the long dormant High Line elevated railroad trestle into a pedestrian walkway that will bring spectators to the stadium.

Beneath the railroad trestle, nooks and spaces between the steel piers will be used for antiques fairs and flea markets, more in line with the emerging arts district in Chelsea, and similar to public markets in Europe.

The stadium's western wall faces the Hudson River and a sliver of park that now runs up the shoreline on the opposite side of the West Side Highway.

The stadium plan includes a grass-covered deck over the highway that will connect to the park.

Overlooking the river, the stadium will include a 400-seat community theater, a restaurant and a museum open to the public.

It's here that Cross said fans will find "organized tailgating activities," with food vendors, bands and other entertainment.

On 11th Avenue, the VIP entrance for luxury suites and club seats, a two-story arcade of shops will be open to the public seven days a week.

Above the shops will be what Cross calls "the best sports bar in New York."

Similar to an ESPN Zone, the bar will also have a wall of windows looking directly down on the football field. And it'll be open on game days, with patrons able to watch the Jets play in exchange for paying an extra cover charge.

A lot of stadiums already have shops, bars and restaurants. But the Jets plan to go a few steps further. Roughly 60,000 square feet of retail space will include a high-end supermarket and a car dealer's showroom, Cross said.

"The idea is to make destination retail that is unique so that people will travel for it," Cross said of the shops closest to the entrance for the proposed extension of the No. 7 subway line, which will run to 33rd Street and 11th Avenue.

[NYguy]

The turbines have been removed and a sleeker design unveiled. I was a little concerned with how the stadium would look without the turbines, but its actually nicer to look at in its current form:

[NYguy]

press release

THE NEW YORK JETS AND WORLD-RENOWNED DESIGNERS UNVEIL DRAMATIC REDESIGN OF THE NEW YORK SPORTS AND CONVENTION CENTER

New York - The New York Jets today unveiled a redesigned Sports and Convention Center that will stand as one of New York

[NYguy]

NEWSDAY

President Jay Cross poses by a model of new design for the New York Sports and Convention Center at the Center for Architecture in Manhattan.

NY JETS President Jay Cross, Graphics Consultant Bruce Mau, Interior Desinger Glenn Pushelberg and Architect Bill Pederson as they unveiled the new design for the New York Sports and Convention Center.

[SmellyCat]

wow that is one neat looking stadium. I sure hope it gets built. From what I've heard, sounds like Manhattan is full of NIMBYs looking to quash the project.

[nyxmike]

Thats because New Yorkers pay enough in taxes already... but I would like to see this get built - it looks awesome.

[Loughlin]

That Woderful

[RiversideGator]

As a football fan and a supporter of a Manhattan stadium, I think this is just a wierd design. I believe a football stadium should look like a football stadium.

[NYguy]

As a football fan and a supporter of a Manhattan stadium, I think this is just a wierd design.

[NYguy]

Thats because New Yorkers pay enough in taxes already... but I would like to see this get built - it looks awesome.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There will be no new or extra taxes for this stadium.

As far as public funds spent, that will be for two specific purposes:

1. A platform will have to be built above the railyards before any developer will build there. City and state cost - $300 million

2. The state wants the stadium to double as an annex to the convention center, and therefore wants a roof to be built. City and state cost - $300 million

That's where the $600 million in public funds will go. For their part, the JETS are spending at least $1 Billion on the stadium. The GIANTS may or may not participate in the new plan, now that their own new stadum deal in New Jersey has fallen through.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

that is an amazing looking stadium. lets hope the Jets play well enough to deserve it.

[SmellyCat]

Kudos to the Jets for hammering those Cablevision pricks on the bid. Sounds like they have quite an impressive who's who lineup of developers backing their project. And why not...they're all likely to get a nice slice of the development.

It's really time NYC gets a new stadium/arena...it would be the first in 30 years. The orange and yellow decor in MSG just isn't doing it for me anymore :-)