Thoughts On The New Stadium

[RutgersJetFan]

Made my first trip out there today, and I have to say it was an interesting experience.

- The predictions about the December winds being worse here than in the old stadium are right on the money. There's so much more open space and the tunnels leading out to the lower concourse funnel the air onto the field very hard. I want no part of homefield advantage right now in the playoffs given how Sanchez's arm has looked. I've been to a lot of stadiums around the league and I think it's obvious that this will probably be the trickiest winter stadium there is.

- The upper deck is high. You knew this already. But, it's, like, really really high. You have to see it for yourself I guess. If you haven't sat there yet and have plans to, bring extra clothes.

- The parking is just a cruel joke. If you're a couple of dudes with single game tickets and no parking pass, you're pretty much screwed. The non-permit lot is kind of where the old satellite lots used to be, except now there's no direct bus line to the stadium. So what they do is put you on a bus, ship you to right in front of an underpass where the train passes over, then send you to walk about half a mile to ANOTHER bus, which then takes you to the stadium. We timed it getting out of the game, and it took us 45 minutes to get to the car with little wait to board the first bus and no traffic really either getting to the lot. 45 minutes. You pay $25 for this. You're telling me that two architecture firms and $1.6 billion were behind this, and they couldn't figure out away to ensure convenient parking for all in the middle of suburban New Jersey? Really?

- The upper bowl seats about 28,000. The mid-bowl seats a little over 21,000. Each gate has two escalators going all the way up the three huge stories that it takes to get there. Only two. Take away the few idiots that actually decide to risk a broken clavicle and brave the stairs, and you're fighting with about 5-6,000 people to get down one of two escalators when a game ends. Once you get down the first flight, another 4-5,000 join in on the fun. Really?

- For about $300 million, Jerry Jones hired one of the best international construction companies there is and built a mecca to football that people love. Yet the Jets and Giants built a larger version of the old stadium that really doesn't have anything special about it when you walk around. Nothing that makes you say 'wow.' It's ugly from the outside. It's plain on the inside. The view of New York is blocked by an empty brown and orange shopping center with a ridiculous looking indoor-skiing hill and a parking deck that screams "don't you wish you could park here?". The food is completely ordinary. Chicken fingers and Primo sausages are still the staple, no Shake Shack-esque center to walk to Met fans.

- All in all, I'd say the whole place is a big letdown. I don't see the point of investing that much dough into a place if this is what you're going to produce. I hate to beat a dead horse, but there really was nothing that wrong with the old stadium that needed to be completely done away with for, well...this. It's nothing more than a larger version of the old place. It's not impressive at all, much like the team that was on the field today. I can't say I'll be in a hurry to get back to a game, even though the train takes you in and drops you conveniently in front, apparently it's a nightmare getting out regardless. It's kind of hilarious that in this day and age, this is what $350 between two people gets you for a regular season football game. DirectTV Sunday Ticket FTW.

[T0mShane]

Great breakdown, Doug. I was there in pre-season and I probably wouldn't go back. That place is a sh*tbox that already looks antiquated and the food and foodservice is horrible.

[BP]

REPOST! LOL!

The new stadium is an abomination! I miss the old place!

[Lil Bit Special]

Sorry it sucked for ya.

Im in no rush to visit the new stadium... and why should I be if there is nothing special about it?

[Larz]

I've been considering scraping up the money to go, but I'm pretty sure I'd be happier at home after reading this

what a shame

$1,600,000,000 and they can't get parking and crowd movement right

unreal

[T0mShane]

I've been considering scraping up the money to go, but I'm pretty sure I'd be happier at home after reading this

what a shame

$1,600,000,000 and they can't get parking and crowd movement right

unreal

Larz, I wouldn't waste another nickel there. It looks like a cell block, the prices for parking and food is simply insulting, and getting in and out of the stadium makes you feel like you're in the middle of a group sodomization. The entire place was designed so the field looks good on TV, but everything else about it smacks of complete disregard to the fan.

[THE ILK]

Larz, I wouldn't waste another nickel there. It looks like a cell block, the prices for parking and food is simply insulting, and getting in and out of the stadium makes you feel like you're in the middle of a group sodomization. The entire place was designed so the field looks good on TV, but everything else about it smacks of complete disregard to the fan.

Yeah, who needs to pay for food and parking to be in the middle of a group sodomization anyway?

[BP]

Larz, I wouldn't waste another nickel there. It looks like a cell block, the prices for parking and food is simply insulting, and getting in and out of the stadium makes you feel like you're in the middle of a group sodomization. The entire place was designed so the field looks good on TV, but everything else about it smacks of complete disregard to the fan.

The bathrooms are worse in the new stadium! I was at the monday night lightning game, and it was raining inside the stadium! rotflmao! the inside doesnt have a roof in some areas. whos gonna plow the snow inside the stadium? the designer should have never been paid, he should have been fired. its a fire trap, and a piece if garbage

[T0mShane]

Yeah, who needs to pay for food and parking to be in the middle of a group sodomization anyway?

Seriously. You have my address.

[RutgersJetFan]

$1,600,000,000 and they can't get parking and crowd movement right

unreal

It really is. I'd really like to see Woody's thoughts on it if he went through an entire game experience from the perspective of a non-parking pass attendee. It's pretty bad. Once upon a time I used to be able to drive my car to a stadium and go to a Jet game.

[Guest Oxoboxo]

...I was at the monday night lightning game,

Which one?

[Larz]

Larz, I wouldn't waste another nickel there. It looks like a cell block, the prices for parking and food is simply insulting, and getting in and out of the stadium makes you feel like you're in the middle of a group sodomization. The entire place was designed so the field looks good on TV, but everything else about it smacks of complete disregard to the fan.

txs for the input. my best friend since '79 is a jets fans who lives on LI and we've been kicking around going. we'd be going as single game ticket guys with no parking pass, so this sounds like a huge hassle to even find each other much less tail gate and have a good time

when you say group sodomization, does that include some lady folk ?

[T0mShane]

The bathrooms are worse in the new stadium! I was at the monday night lightning game, and it was raining inside the stadium! rotflmao! the inside doesnt have a roof in some areas. whos gonna plow the snow inside the stadium? the designer should have never been paid, he should have been fired. its a fire trap, and a piece if garbage

I walked into a bathroom and there were three--count 'em, three--urinals. Who designed this place?

[RutgersJetFan]

The bathrooms are worse in the new stadium!

Forgot to include this. How on earth did they screw up the bathrooms too? The only thing they got right is not putting a handle on the out-door in order to prevent cheaters.

[BP]

Which one?

LOL! The Favre one where we had to stay inside like cattle. I forgot it poured during the Ravens game too.

[Larz]

It really is. I'd really like to see Woody's thoughts on it if he went through an entire game experience from the perspective of a non-parking pass attendee. It's pretty bad. Once upon a time I used to be able to drive my car to a stadium and go to a Jet game.

my favorite part of it used to be the after-gate party after a win, we'd fire up the grill and finish off the grillables , listen to the post game shows and wait for traffic to thin out then go home

"those were the days"

[T0mShane]

when you say group sodomization, does that include some lady folk ?

A woman sodomizing you on an escalator is no consolation. Trust me.

[THE ILK]

Seriously. You have my address.

Who needs to go to Rochester or Greenpoint to be in the middle of a group sodomization anyway?

[Larz]

A woman sodomizing you on an escalator is no consolation. Trust me.

you made a tough afternoon a little better

I missed the entire first half fixing a hot water heater for a freind who owns a restaurant

yay me

[RutgersJetFan]

Great breakdown, Doug. I was there in pre-season and I probably wouldn't go back. That place is a sh*tbox that already looks antiquated and the food and foodservice is horrible.

At the very least, I could have overlooked everything else if the food had been good. Really. Shea isn't without its flaws, especially the damn team they put on the field, but at the very least the food makes up for everything. It's definitely a factor when I'm deciding whether I want to spend a day at the ballgame or not.

Isn't that at least a top 3-4 priority in the design? Think about it, if you're a team owner of any sport, and you're building a new stadium, wouldn't food be the first thing you demanded be top notch? It's one of your top revenue generators, it's the first thing everyone talks about when reviewing the park (see: CitiField vs. Yankee Stadium), and it's also just a matter of pride. Would you really want people coming out of your new, $1.6 billion park saying that the food sucked?

[Bugg]

The old stadium's biggest problem was crowded concourses. This stadium is even worse.

They could've easily erected 4 spiral walkways like the old stadium. They didn't do that, heaven forbid people congregate out there at halftime and have a laugh or a smoke.Or may be you could get out of the stadium from the middle and upper tiers in under a half hour. It feels claustrophic and unsafe.Suspect it would take almost 45 minutes to an hour to evacuate the place.

If you understand going in most people will tailgate you would recognize that concessions have to be first class or they won't sell very much. In every other new stadium in the area concessions, while expensive, are grealty improved. The concessions are actually sh*ttier than in the old place.

The only things that matter really are easy in, easy out, quick and easy beer and soda, a goodbathroom access. Both new Yankee Stadium and Citifield do that, as does the Rock. This stadium fails miserably on these basics.

In every way possible to address those key things this new place is a total failure. And today there were a whole bunch of empty seats.There are times you have to ask yourself why bother to get treated like crap and get overcharged for the privilege. Did they do ANY RESEARCH about their customers, US? That bullsh*t ski slope should have been a warning; don't build a product unless you know you market. And the Jets and Giants simply assumed we are all marks in a 3 card monte game rather than thinking people. The Couch with the HD TV in front of it is the better option.

[Greenranger]

Its mostly a larger Giants Stadium. I knew it would be a lot higher because I remember last year at the old Stadium when I could still afford season tickets sitting down in row 35 near gate D, I could see the new Stadium coming up over the old one. But I was disappointed with the exterior lights. I thought it was supposed to have been modeled after Allianz Area in Germany.

[BP]

The old stadium's biggest problem was crowded concourses. This stadium is even worse.

They could've easily erected 4 spiral walkways like the old stadium. They didn't do that, heaven forbid people congregate out there at halftime and have a laugh or a smoke.Or may be you could get out of the stadium from the middle and upper tiers in under a half hour. It feels claustrophic and unsafe.Suspect it woudl take almost 45 minutes to an hour to evacuate the place.

If you understand going in most people will tailgate you would recognize that concessions have to be first class or they won't sell very much. In every other new stadium in the area concessions, while expensive, are grealty improved. The concessions are actually sh*ttier than in the old place.

the only things that matter really are easy in, easy out, quick and easy beer and soda, a goodbathroom access. Both new Yankee Stadium and Citifield do that, as does the Rock.

In evry way possible to address those key things this new place is a total failure. And today there were a whole bunch of empty seats.

Joe Robbie (sun life) in Miami is 25 years old and is much nicer that this sh*t hole. their concourses are HUGE! and you can walk in either door to the bathroom because theres no ******* door to the bathroom, you just walk in. (no lines outside the door)

The whole place was built around luxury boxes and nothing else. its a joke!

[BP]

Its mostly a larger Giants Stadium. I knew it would be a lot higher because I remember last year at the old Stadium when I could still afford season tickets sitting down in row 35 near gate D, I could see the new Stadium coming up over the old one. But I was disappointed with the exterior lights. I thought it was supposed to have been modeled after Allianz Area in Germany.

Woody isnt gonna pay that outrageous electric bill

[RutgersJetFan]

my favorite part of it used to be the after-gate party after a win, we'd fire up the grill and finish off the grillables , listen to the post game shows and wait for traffic to thin out then go home

"those were the days"

Not anymore. Now when you pull up, you see people tailgating in office parking lots a mile or two out (like the past two years, but still). When we were driving up, there were a couple of people sitting on a picnic table that's clearly used for workday lunches for whoever uses the building. That one actually really made me laugh. Non-season ticket holders subsidizing surrounding office spaces for tailgating a distance away from the brand new stadium they just shelled out an arm and a leg to get in to. That's the Jets right now to a T.

They give you these xerox'd passes to get back on the bus. "Don't lose these, otherwise you won't be able to get back," they tell you. Really? If I lose this piece of paper, I can't get back on the NJ transit bus that takes me to the lot, where I then walk to the schoolbus to get back to my car? Is there a group of ninjas infiltrating the satellite lots at games or something?

The best was when the first bus dropped us off. The underpass they put you out in front of is nothing short of sketchy. "We're here," the driver said. To which we replied, "wait, what? No we're not." Then she sent us off for our great trek across the lots of East Rutherford. The whole thing is such a pain that you can't help but laugh the entire time.

[Greenranger]

Woody isnt gonna pay that outrageous electric bill

Still, thats what I was expecting opening night. Compare those pictures to our Stadium. I think you get my bitter disappointment at our dim Green Stadium..

[NIGHT STALKER]

I'm wondering if the West Side Stadium would have been better? I was one of the proponents of that idea. Oh well, we're stuck with the Jersey site forever now.

[Greenranger]

I'm wondering if the West Side Stadium would have been better? I was one of the proponents of that idea. Oh well, we're stuck with the Jersey site forever now.

I think it would've been. No wind. I've been against sharing a new Stadium with the Giants from the start unless its called Jets Stadium.

[Bugg]

I think it would've been. No wind. I've been against sharing a new Stadium with the Giants from the start unless its called Jets Stadium.

It's a moot point, but the West Side is right up against the Hudson River. There would've been wind.

[Larz]

Not anymore. Now when you pull up, you see people tailgating in office parking lots a mile or two out (like the past two years, but still). When we were driving up, there were a couple of people sitting on a picnic table that's clearly used for workday lunches for whoever uses the building. That one actually really made me laugh. Non-season ticket holders subsidizing surrounding office spaces for tailgating a distance away from the brand new stadium they just shelled out an arm and a leg to get in to. That's the Jets right now to a T.

They give you these xerox'd passes to get back on the bus. "Don't lose these, otherwise you won't be able to get back," they tell you. Really? If I lose this piece of paper, I can't get back on the NJ transit bus that takes me to the lot, where I then walk to the schoolbus to get back to my car? Is there a group of ninjas infiltrating the satellite lots at games or something?

The best was when the first bus dropped us off. The underpass they put you out in front of is nothing short of sketchy. "We're here," the driver said. To which we replied, "wait, what? No we're not." Then she sent us off for our great trek across the lots of East Rutherford. The whole thing is such a pain that you can't help but laugh the entire time.

can't imagine doing that in december or bad weather in general

you have a nice writing style btw, very enjoyable to read

[Greenranger]

It's a moot point, but the West Side is right up against the Hudson River. There would've been wind.

but it was more enclosed with the part of the roof that didn't open.

[NIGHT STALKER]

It's a moot point, but the West Side is right up against the Hudson River. There would've been wind.

You're 100% correct...the idea is moot...however, I just brought it up because of I've yet to hear anyone say "Wow, the new stadium was worth the money or experience".

[RutgersJetFan]

you have a nice writing style btw, very enjoyable to read

Have you ever seen a grown man naked?

[Larz]

Have you ever seen a grown man naked?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTB6tJHquf4

[serphnx]

I also don't understand why cold weather teams refuse to put in domes and people somehow think it's a mark of toughness to sit around in sh*tty weather and watch poor play because the weather is affecting everybody. That doesn't prove toughness, that shows stupidity. 100 years ago men didn't take showers either and would never use hot water because that was "womanly" and "weak."

I want to watch the athletes perform at peak level. I want the fans to be comfortable so they can cheer on the team, not shivering cold and rushing out early to beat the traffic.