Gothamist: Jets Abandon West Side Dreams

Brightliner

Fri, 02 Sep 2005 08:55:27 -0500

From what I understand, the current Shea already has movable seating sections. That design didn't work well, but I'm sure stadium designers have learned a few things since it was built 41 years ago.

hijiki

Fri, 02 Sep 2005 07:15:43 -0500

these days they could design the seating to be on a high-tech movable system which they couldn't do 30-40 years ago.

Brightliner

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 17:37:59 -0500

Well, if they can't have a dual-use stadium, then how about siting the two stadiums side-by-side? It's been done before. Then unless there's a scheduling conflict, the parking lot can be used year-round. Sharing infrastructure and transportation facilities makes sense when you consider that any single-purpose stadium generally gets used only six months a year.

S.D.

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 14:49:15 -0500

Hmm, are they contractually obligated to go for the next bidder??

Joe

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 14:10:14 -0500

Dual-use stadiums (stadia?) were very popular 30-40 years ago. They've gone out of favor for a few reasons, one of which is the seating configuration. A configuration that's good for football is lousy for baseball, and the compromise between the two isn't good for either.

Brightliner

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 13:48:06 -0500

I'm not a sports fan, so maybe I'm way off-base on this, but why can't the Jets go back to their previous home field (more or less)? With a new Shea Stadium in the works, is there any reason it can't be designed to accommodate both baseball and football, say maybe a removable mound and a retractable Astroturf field for football? The new Shea was supposed to be multipurpose for the Olympics anyway. If the Jets and the Mets pooled their considerable resources, they could build a kick-ass stadium that can be used through most of the year instead of just sitting around between seasons and halve their property taxes in the process. I'm sure MLB and the NFL could work out the team schedules so there's no conflict in September and October. They did it back when the Jets played in Shea for 19 seasons before jumping ship for Jersey.

JoeM

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 11:30:34 -0500

Doesn't this then mean that the MTA should go to the next highest bidder and force Cablevision to pay for the property like they said they were going to? The MTA will be lucky to see half of what it would have gotten otherwise. I hope Spitzer and Bloomberg team up and clean house at the MTA...

oscar madison

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 10:34:36 -0500

Any NY Knicks or NY Rangers season ticket holder who DOES NOT cancel their subscription should be taken out and flogged in Times Square - you are subsidizing criminals!