The basics of the deal are that the Giants will foot the estimated $750-million cost of building the venue, which will replace the existing 76,000-seat, 29-year-old Giants Stadium. The Giants share the existing stadium with the rival New York Jets, who are seeking their own stadium deal on Manhattan's West Side.

The new building will rise near the existing stadium within the Meadowlands Sports Complex, which is state owned. The Giants' annual rent for its ground lease will be $6.3 million a year. The agreement is initially for 40 years, but with options could run out to as much as 98 years.

The Giants will also operate the stadium and retain the profits it generates. The team will, however, share a percentage of money generated by the sale of naming rights, if that were to occur. The State of New Jersey will spend upwards of $30 million on road work surrounding the site, and has also agreed to pay the debt that remains on the old stadium, a number that is said to be in the $124-million range.

Acting Gov. Richard Codey has been publicly credited with getting the deal in gear again, over the apparent objections of George Zoffinger, CEO of the NJSEA. In response to the debate the project has generated in recent months, the Giants issued a statement that said, in part, "We must resolve not to allow the stadium to ever again become a political football. It is time to embrace this agreement and work…on what will be the best stadium deal in NFL history."

Unresolved are the Giants' objections to Mills Corp. and Mack-Cali Realty's Meadowlands Xanadu, a $1.3-billion mixed-use mega project slated to rise on the Continental Airlines Arena site within the Sports Complex. Those objections include the project's operating hours on game days. The Giants would not comment on the matter.