Jets end bid for West Side stadium

By Pradnya Joshi
STAFF WRITER

September 1, 2005

The New York Jets Wednesday formally ended their multiyear bid to build a $2.2-billion football stadium on the West Side of Manhattan atop the MTA's rail yards.

In a letter addressed to Peter Kalikow, chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Jets president L. Jay Cross said the team "will not be proceeding with a contract of sale" for the rail yards.

In a hotly contested bid, the Jets' won a $250 million bid to develop the 13-acre MTA-owned land in late March.

A $1 billion conditional bid from an energy company and a $450 million offer from Cablevision, which owns Madison Square Garden, were rejected in favor of the Jets.

However, the Jets' stadium plans, which depended on $600 million in city and state subsidies, were dealt a fatal blow in June after a state oversight board failed to approve the deal.

The Jets asked the MTA for extra time to evaluate their financing options, but yesterday they finally ended their quest.

The team is in talks with the New York Giants to jointly build a new stadium at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. In addition, team officials are eyeing 15 acres around the Fountain of the Planets in Flushing for a proposed 80,000-seat stadium. --

Copyright © 2005, Newsday, Inc.

MANHATTAN: JETS PASS ON WEST SIDE DEAL The Jets formally notified the Metropolitan Transportation Authority yesterday that the team would not buy development rights at the West Side railyards for a stadium that would be used for football and trade shows. After nearly five years of effort, the $2.2 billion project suffered a potentially fatal setback in June when state legislative leaders refused to approve the stadium, which had been opposed by some neighborhood and civic groups. The team is negotiating to build a stadium in New Jersey that would also house the Giants, while also exploring the possibility of building its own home in Queens.Charles V. Bagli (NYT)