Jets, Jints ink deal

Will share 800M N.J. field for 99 yrs.

By HANK GOLA and BILL HUTCHINSON
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

The Jets and Giants made NFL history yesterday, sealing a joint stadium deal that will keep both teams in New Jersey for 99 years.

The teams announced they scored an agreement to team up on building an $800million gridiron in the Meadowlands - officially ending hopes of a Jets return to New York.

"Today is a great day for the state of New Jersey. We are keeping the Giants and Jets where they belong," acting New Jersey Gov. Richard Codey said.

The Jets and Giants hope to begin the 2009 football season in their new home, which will be surrounded by shops and restaurants - and a gateway leading to the planned $2 billion Xanadu shopping complex nearby. It is the first time in National Football League history that two teams have agreed to build and share one stadium.

The deal was finalized about an hour before a deadline imposed by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.

The pact came after a marathon negotiating session between Codey, Jets owner Woody Johnson and Giants Chief Operating Officer John Mara. The new 80,000-seat stadium, to include about 200 luxury suites, will rise next to the 30-year-old Giants Stadium, which will eventually be razed.

The complex will be built so a $200 million retractable roof could be added later. A roof could draw a Super Bowl and other big sporting events, such as college basketball's Final Four tournament.

Plans also call for a new Giants practice field to be built behind the Meadowlands Racetrack. The Jets are expected to move their practice facility from Hofstra University in Hempstead, L.I., to a yet-to-be-determined location in New Jersey.

While there are no plans to eliminate New York from the teams' names, the stadium will have a new name. The naming rights will be sold for $12 million to $14 million.

The pact ends the Jets' pursuit of a New York stadium that most recently had them eying a home in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens.

This year, the Jets' hopes of a stadium on the West Side of Manhattan flopped amid rejection by an obscure state board and the nixing of the city's bid for the 2012 Olympic Games.