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Giants Stadium - Early History
Giants Stadium under construction.

1976-2009

After calling four different stadiums home in their first 50 years in the National Football League, the Giants moved into Giants Stadium in 1976. The idea of playing at a stadium built in the Meadowlands first attracted the Giants' attention when they realized that they could provide 15,000 more seats and help meet the increasing demands of the fans without a major switch in location. Giants Stadium is only 6.9 miles from Times Square, compared to Yankee Stadium which is 6.6.

In May of 1967, a local New Jersey newspaper first proposed the idea of building a Sports Complex. The idea of the complex could not begin until a major sports franchise could be attracted to the concept. With an aging Yankee Stadium, the Giants and the Yankees became immediate targets. The original construction idea called for separate stadiums for football and baseball with convenient parking and easy highway access just miles from New York City.

In 1970, the William Cahill administration began serious efforts to lure the Giants. On August 27, 1971, the Giants signed a 30-year lease for a 75,000-seat stadium to be built by the 1975 season. The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority was established by an act of the state legislature on May 10, 1971 to finance, construct and administer the complex. It was also decided that the complex would include a stadium for football and a racetrack. The Authority was granted powers through legislature to lease property, borrow money, issue bonds and conduct horse racing. To finance the complex the state was authorized to issue revenue bonds backed by the state-run racetrack proceeds. The complex was built and operated with no expense to the taxpayers.

Prior to construction of the facility, the project was hit with many obstacles. First, there were legislative disputes that resulted from objections to the complex, then environmentalists were concerned about the issue of wildlife preservations and air pollution from the increase of cars. Despite these problems, the Authority pushed the project along, hiring real estate consultants, accountants, bond attorneys and brokerage firms.

In September of 1973, New Jersey Governor-elect Brendan Byrne negotiated a new lease with the Giants, and the sale of bonds began and was completed in 1974. Simultaneous construction of the racetrack and stadium began in 1972. September 1, 1976 marked the opening of the Meadowlands racetrack. The Giants made their debut in Giants Stadium on October 10, 1976 against the Dallas Cowboys before a sellout crowd.


Giants Stadium in 2002
Giants Stadium, 2002.
Giants Stadium got a new look for the 2000 season when the playing surface was natural grass for the first time. The grass was grown in a series of replaceable trays, which was allowed workers to remove tray containing worn or poor grass and replacing them with a fresh tray. The trays were used for three years, through the 2002 season but never succeeded as planned. The field was often brown and bumpy, and by the end of the 2002 season, new sod had to be installed to cover what had essentially become an unplayable field.

The 2003 season marked the debut of a new surface of FieldTurf, a state of the art synthetic grass field. FieldTurf looks like real grass and has been installed on more than 550 sports surfaces in 25 countries in the previous three years (including NFL stadiums in Detroit and Chicago). Under its surface is what FieldTurf calls, “a special silica sand, cryogenic rubber and Nike Grind filling.” That filling includes sneakers. Drainage is said to be immediate, and
the heat on the field – which was a problem with previous artificial surfaces - is supposed to be dispersed to the rubber layer below the surface.
Giants Stadium - New York GiantsLearn more about the years before Giants Stadium.
New York Giants in the 1920s - New York GiantsBack home to: New York Giants




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lennonpark7 stadium 0 Feb 11 2012, 2:35 PM EST by lennonpark7
Thread started: Feb 11 2012, 2:35 PM EST  Watch
hope the giants gets there wish to hold the super bowl final in 2014 the stadium looks great just hope one day i get chance to see my team play in there lovely stadium its hard wen u live in the uk love the giants big follow
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aquastell Looking forward to new stadium 0 Aug 5 2010, 2:03 PM EDT by aquastell
Thread started: Aug 5 2010, 2:03 PM EDT  Watch
A little disappointed though in the season ticket books; I liked them much better as a plate as they were not just tickets but works of art. Maybe the powers that be will switch back to the old style.
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RRoble Naming Rights 4 Nov 7 2009, 6:58 PM EST by JeffreyFekete
Thread started: Jun 17 2009, 4:33 PM EDT  Watch
The Giants and Jets will wait for the right partner and amount before selling the naming rights to their new $1.6 billion stadium in the NJ Meadowlands. Giants chief executive John Mara said Wed the teams have had recent negotiations with several companies. "I think it is more important to have the right deal, so if it means having to wait beyond the opening of the building, we'll do that," Mara said. "I don't think that will be the case. I think we will have something done before then. The teams were close to a deal last fall with Allianz that would have been worth an est $30 million annually. Negotiations, however, ended when it was announced that the German insurance Co. once had ties to the Nazis, a history that brought criticism from Jewish orgs, Holocaust survivors and football fans who said seeing the company's name on the stadium as a constant reminder of the Holocaust. The Giants on Wed announced a 15-yr agreement with Timex for the naming rights to their new training facility and corporate headquarters in the Meadowlands sports complex. Mara said that the teams have signed agreements for 3 of the stadium's 4 so-called "cornerstone partners." They will have exclusive naming rights to brand one of the four main entrances to the stadium. MetLife Inc., Verizon and Anheuser-Busch have agreed to be 3 of the cornerstone partners. Mara hopes to have a 4th before the end of the year. Mara said the new stadium hopes to have its 1st event in April, an NCAA lacrosse game (sweet!) The Giants have 1 yr left on their training camp deal at the Univ at Albany, N.Y. Mara said the team has not decided whether to return. The team might train at its new headquarters or split time between New Jersey and Albany, noting the 3 new grass fields at the New Jersey facility might not stand up if used for training camp.

Any idea on which Corporation might step in as Sponsor? How about a Ga$oline company, Chinese firm or Google.
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