RSS$MTA Approves Jets Stadium
The MTA has approved the plan for the new West Side Stadium, otherwise known as the New York Sports and Convention Center. This is a major victory for Bloomberg, who has taken on the plan as his pet project. This is a major victory for the labor unions, who support the plan because it promises to create thousands of jobs. It is also a victory for the Jets organization because they managed to get the government to help them build a prestigious new facility.
But this is not the end of the story. What about the fans? As a Jets fan who has chafed at the idea of Gang Green continuing to play at Giants stadium in New Jersey, I applaud the idea of a new stadium for the team. But Manhattan's west side has accessibility difficulties. There will be no space for a parking lot, let alone tailgaters. What was wrong with building a new stadium in Queens, near Shea stadium, where the Jets played from 1964 to 1983?
Also, consider the costs. As explored in this article, many fans are concerned about the skyrocketing prices of season tickets. Anyone who doesn't translate the Jets' $1.6 billion investment into a very expensive football game is fooling themselves. It's all about the Personal Seat Licenses: a way for the team to charge (gouge) season ticket holders for the right to hold their seats. They have to intend to recoup that money somehow.
What about the city itself? Is this a win for them? Yes and no, I suppose. On the plus side, Manhattan gets a world-class convention center, which is arguably a good thing. Without a large venue like this stadium, New York could not hope to host the large tourist events such as the Olympic Games or the Superbowl. Events like this bring in a lot of money to the city. But is it worth the ungodly traffic that it will cause on Sundays?
I guess it's a good thing that the Jets will return home to New York. But the West Side Stadium is a product of Bloomberg's vision of New York as a luxury item. The fans are the ones who will lose out.
