GlobeSt.com UPDATE: Jets, Giants Said to Be Near Stadium Deal

According to a published report, the Jets' proposal, submitted to the Giants, calls for the two teams to partner up to build a 90,000-seat stadium at a cost to be determined. The Giants have publicly expressed an interest in partnering with the Jets, and either facility would replace the existing 30-year-old Giants Stadium. The Jets became a co-tenant of the 76,000-seat facility in the mid-'80s. The latest proposal comes in the wake of the demise of a controversial plan for a new stadium for the Jets on top of rail yards on the West Side of Manhattan.

Giants officials could not be reached for comment on the proposal. Jets officials did release a written statement confirming that, "negotiations with the State of New Jersey and the Giants…have intensified. We expect that an agreement could be reached by the fall of 2005."

The stadium would actually be the anchor of a mixed-use redevelopment of the current Giants Stadium site, which lies directly across a highway from the 106-acre site of Mills Corp.'s and Mack-Cali Realty's Meadowlands Xanadu shopping and entertainment complex. Site work is just under way for the latter.

Besides the stadium, the Jets' proposal calls for a hotel and conference center, as well as an interactive facility combining the two teams' halls of fame and related NFL exhibits and demonstrations. The development would be financed privately, and the two teams would run the stadium privately and retain all revenues generated by the complex. The Jets also say they would move their headquarters to New Jersey from its current location adjacent to the campus of Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY. The Jets are also apparently keeping other options on the table regarding a new stadium. At the behest of New York City officials, team management is scheduled to meet later this month with officials of the Borough of Queens to talk about relocating there.