The New Meadowlands Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium opened on 10 April 2010 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, US. Located in the New York metropolitan area, the sports and entertainment venue is home to the National Football League (NFL) teams – the New York Jets and the New York Giants. Replacing the Giant Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex, the New Meadowlands Stadium is the first NFL stadium in the US to be shared by two teams. The Giants Stadium, built in 1976 and demolished in May 2010, was home to the Giants since 1976 and to the Jets since 1984.
With a seating capacity of 82,500, the New Meadowlands Stadium is the second largest NFL stadium in terms of capacity, next only to the FedEx Field. It is also the costliest stadium ever built, with an investment of $1.6bn. Covering about 13.5 acres, the stadium has an area of 2.1 million square feet, and is built with latest technology and amenities. The open air stadium will also host marquee events such as internationally broadcast concerts, sports and entertainment activities.
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The New Meadowlands Stadium was designed by the Skanska AB, Ewing Cole and 360 Architecture. The New Meadowlands Stadium Company, a joint venture of the New York Jets and the New York Giants, owns and operates the stadium. The interior architect of the stadium was Rockwell Group and Focus Lighting Inc. was the contractor for lighting design. Construction of the stadium was started in September 2007 and completed in 2010.
Facilities
The stadium has more than 40 exit/entry lanes, 9,300 club seats, 222 luxury suites, a club lounge area of 130,000ft² and amenities. The interiors are decorated with four 30ftx118ft HD video display boards, 48"x2200′ ribbon board in the interior bowl, more than 2,100 HD monitors and 20 HD video pylons digitally connected for providing unparalleled views and sound. There are 16 elevators, 38 escalators and 28,000 parking spaces surrounding the complex.
The stadium is connected by the Meadowlands Rail Line, which was opened in July 2009. The line connects the Hoboken Terminal and the Meadowlands Station at the stadium and operates on event days.
Design
The New Meadowlands Stadium is designed in the shape of a rounded rectangle. The surface of the stadium is made of FieldTurf. The stadium greets the audience with a Great Wall featuring the photographic murals of Giants and Jets during match days, on the 400′ long x 40′ high tri-vision panels.
The outer skin of the stadium is built with aluminium louvers, designed to change colour depending on the home team that plays the match. The interior lighting also switches colours based on the home team.
The colour representation follows this pattern: blue for Giants, green for Jets, red for concerts and white for other events.
The custom-designed aluminium louvers liner measurement is 50,000m. The stadium’s two giant pylons in the north and east entrances also display videos of the playing team.
Sustainability
The New Meadowlands Stadium Company teamed up with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to incorporate environmentally friendly measures for stadium construction and operation. The measures taken include recycling, composting and solid waste programmes, water conservation, energy management, and wetlands and wildlife protection. Clean fuels and diesel particulate filters were used on all construction equipment to reduce emissions. The synthetic turf playing field will save about 11 million gallons of water annually.
The stadium utilises EPA Energy-Star compliant ventilation, heating, cooling and concession equipment. It was furnished with energy efficient lights and an automated lighting control system. The windows are Low E glazed for energy efficiency and the glass transmits less destructive UV light and acts as an insulator.
Contractors
The SEK7.4bn ($998m) contract to design and build the New Meadowlands Stadium was awarded to Skanska. Architectural Wall Systems and Overgaard custom-designed and manufactured the louvers and associated hanging system of the stadium.
Funding
In September 2005, the New York Jets and New York Giants signed an agreement to jointly finance the stadium development project in New Jersey. In December 2006, the Giants-Jets stadium received a $300m loan from the NLF G-3 stadium financing programme, to be repaid over a 15-year period.
