Mayor Bloomberg has announced that he will support the proposal to bring the New York Jets back to New York City. The plan is to build a $1.4 billion stadium on the West Side of Manhattan above the rail yards of Penn Station. The stadium would hold 75,000 fans and have a retractable roof. The Jets have not had a "home" of their own since 1983 when they played at Shea Stadium in Queens New York. Since then they have shared the Meadowlands with the New York Giants. I have been a Jets fan since the day I was born, and it is a great relief to know that my NY Jets finally have their own home. However, I do not think Manhattan is a good site for the new stadium.
Some of my earliest memories were tailgating in the parking lot of the Meadowlands before and after Jets games. There is no proposed parking lot in the new plan. I could not imagine Jets games with no tailgating. A whole culture would be eliminated. No more barbeques, drinking, and pickup games of touch football. What Jets fan goes just for the game? The tailgate is part of the experience. Also, we Jets fans are known to be a compassionate bunch. The new stadium would mean the displacement of residents near the proposed site. Entire neighborhoods might be disturbed, and those who do stay will have to deal with rowdy fans every Sunday. Yes, even though we are compassionate people, we have been known to get a little excited about our team.
I believe the only reason Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki have agreed to the proposal is to draw the 2012 Olympics to New York City. Bloomberg said that the stadium would be the site for the opening and closing ceremonies. He also said the retractable roof would enable them to use the building year round, extending the Javits Center to create a "Convention Center Corridor" that would stretch along 11th Avenue from 30th to 40th streets.
I am all for a new stadium, just not in Manhattan. For some reason I can not see overweight construction workers with green face paint from Jersey strolling down 5th Ave. chanting "J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets."
