NJ Stadium Deal Revised

New Jersey city officials and the New York Giants and Jets have made several changes to an agreement signed last fall that will create a new $1 billion football stadium in East Rutherford.

Under the updated agreement, the state would not be required to pay for $30 million of infrastructure costs around the 81,000-seat stadium, state official Gary Rose said.

The proposed facility, jointly financed by the teams in a 99-year deal, is scheduled to open for the 2010 season. The stadium is expected to be a flagship for the National Football League.

The new agreement came after Gov. Jon Corzine in early March questioned the financial terms of the original deal, brokered by his predecessor, former Gov. Richard Codey.

The Giants and Jets would also be allowed to collect money for naming rights to the stadium and the complex as a whole, with the exception of the Continental Airlines Arena and Xanadu, a new $2 billion entertainment and retail development being built there.

The state also would drop its pursuit of a retractable dome for the new arena, Rose said. Team owners had said they would kill the earlier agreement if the state forced them to pay for a roof.

“Governor Codey made a tremendous effort to keep the Giants and Jets in New Jersey and [this] announcement confirms the partnership that has been fostered between New Jersey and the teams,” Corzine said in a statement. “The stadium that will be built will be a world-class facility that will set a new standard for football venues.”

Team owners said they were also pleased with the revised agreement.

“We are very grateful to the governor for recognizing the importance of this project,” Jets Chairman/CEO Woody Johnson said. “We are looking forward to moving ahead and beginning work on the new stadium as planned.”

In September, the Giants and Jets agreed to jointly finance the new stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The Jets decided to continue shacking up with the Giants after a failed attempt to build a $2.2 billion stadium in New York City.

While the Giants will build their own training facility on a site within the Meadowlands, the Jets will move their headquarters and practice facility to Florham Park from Hempstead, N.Y., in the summer of 2007.