EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ-The New York Giants and Jets football teams have closed on separate financing packages totaling $1.3 billion, paving the way for construction of a new stadium to house both teams. The 82,000-seat stadium, still to be named, will replace the 30-year-old Giants Stadium that the two teams currently share.
"This represents another step forward in the completion of this project," says Alice McGillion, a representative of New Meadowlands Stadium Corp., the joint venture of the two teams that's overseeing the project. "We now look forward to finalizing all of the design plans so that we can deliver the best stadium experience possible to our fans and the state of New Jersey."
Each team completed separate $650-million financing deals. Citicorp is handling the Jets' portion of the package, while investment banks Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers are handling the Giants' side of the financing equation. Further details of the transactions were not released.
The financings follow earlier approval by the National Football League to loan the two teams a combined $300 million for the stadium's construction. That was part of the NFL's G3 program, which the league established in 1999 to help teams build new stadiums.
The new venue will rise just to the northeast of the existing stadium, which will be demolished and replaced by parking lots. Delivery is currently slated for the 2010 football season. Site work has already started, and the two teams say they will hold a formal groundbreaking next month. The current price tag for the new venue is said to be in the $1.6-million range, up from earlier estimates of $1.2 million
As part of their agreement with the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority, the state agency that owns the current stadium and the site of both the old and the new within the Meadowlands Sports Complex, the Giants are also building a new practice facility on 20 acres nearby. The Jets are building a practice facility and corporate headquarters on 20 acres in nearby Florham Park.
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