Stadium spat goes to court

BY MICHAEL SAUL
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU

The New York Jets' fight for a new stadium on the far West Side is now going to court.

Madison Square Garden filed a lawsuit yesterday against the MTA, alleging the agency violated its "legal and fiduciary duties" by failing to accept the Garden's bid for the agency's West Side rail yards.

"It is undisputed that MSG was the highest qualified bidder," the Garden claims in a 53-page lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court just five days after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority unanimously decided to sell the property to the Jets.

The suit, which also names the city and the Jets, seeks a preliminary injunction prohibiting the MTA from transferring its property to the Jets.

The lawsuit accuses the MTA of conducting a "sham bidding process" that was "designed to favor the Jets," resulting in a winning bid "inferior in value."

The Garden offered $400 million in up-front cash for the property, while the Jets offered $210 million. The MSG bid included no requirement for a public subsidy, while the Jets expect $600 million in city and state money.

The lawsuit directly bashes MTA board members' public explanations of their votes, calling their remarks a "tortured effort to rationalize their irrational decisions."

The company also accuses the city of "intentionally interfering" with the Garden's "prospective business relations" - citing, among other things, public remarks by Mayor Bloomberg denouncing the Garden's bid.

Bloomberg said the Garden is merely trying to "protect their monopoly" on large indoor events in Manhattan.

"They went into a competition along with everybody else," Bloomberg said. "And when they didn't win, they go to court. You know, enough."

An MTA spokeswoman declined to comment.

In a statement, the Jets accused the Garden's parent company, Cablevision, of filing a "litany of frivolous lawsuits" in the past six months.

State Sen. Joe Bruno suggested the lawsuit could gum up the stadium project in Albany, where it needs a green light from two state boards.

"They have to get through the legal process," Bruno said. "It is going to be awfully hard to be legislating until you have clarity as to what the legalities are."

Ballpark figures

Construction price tag: $1.9 billion

Who's paying? City and state pay $300 million each; Jets pay the rest.

When could it open? The earliest is 2009. The NFL has awarded the 2010 Super Bowl to the city if the stadium's built on time.

Will it open on time? Doubtful. The proposed stadium still needs okay from two boards, and now MSG is suing.