westsidestadium.org

Why New York City needs a Stadium on Manhattan's West Side

To build, or not to build, that is the question...

In the Beginning...

...there were the Greeks. Not technically true, really. There were great civilizations, long before the Greeks. But our civilization is rooted, in many ways, in the Greek civilization. Take, for example, the stadium.
A handy Webster's defines Stadium as A Greek measure equal to 606 feet, 9 inches; the course for footraces in ancient Greece, flanked by terraced elevations with tiers of seats for spectators; a similar modern structure used for modern games.

So one can imagine feeling very much at home, eating a Souvlaki and 'kraut, cheering on the races, then leaning back in one's terraced elevation, sipping a cold Mareotiko wine, and smiling. Ah, the stadium!
So, we can see, just from the word itself, that the concept of the stadium goes back to ancient man. And, where were these stadiums built? Out in the forest, or, perhaps, in the middle of a swamp? No. They were built in the urban centers, the great cities.

This tradition continued, over the years, to the 20th Century. One might point to the American college stadium as the exception, but it is the exception that proves the rule. The University itself is a mini-city- a magnet for its alumni. No, the stadium was in the city, part of the city itself, until one day in 1958.

In the early 1950's, Walter O'Malley, the owner of the most popular franchise in sporting America, the Brooklyn Dodgers (the Dodgers were outdrawing the New York Yankees, despite the Yankees never-ending string of championships), had a vision. While his small, historic stadium was always filled with fans, it had a major drawback, in his eyes: it was located in the central city, in this case, Brooklyn. America, in his eyes, was moving away from the central city concept. Why, in New York, throughout the five boroughs, and beyond, Robert Moses was tearing down whole neighborhoods in order to construct a system of Super-highways. O'Malley wanted a stadium with easy access to that system of Super-highways- downtown Brooklyn would not do. And, in the Spring of 1958, he found the perfect location for that stadium- in Los Angeles, the city of the Super-highway, 3,000 miles away.

O'Malley's moving the Dodgers out of New York City, along with the New York baseball Giants, was a seminal event in New York history, the signaling of a sea change. For O'malley, at least in the short term, was correct, New York, and the great central cities across America, were sliding slowly, but surely, downhill. By the 1970's, the slide was complete. Vacancies and crime were at an all time high, businesses were fleeing, and the central city idea seemed truly dead.

But then, a funny thing happened: the people came back! It started slowly, in the late 1970's. While the old heavy industries were dying, a new set of industries were being born- the world of the computer, the internet, and high speed communication. It turned out that the central city was the perfect place to live in this new hi-tech world, and by the 1990's, the city had boomed. As we entered the new century, vacancies, crime and unemployment were all at all-time lows, and the central city was healthier than ever.

Was Walter O'Malley right? Certainly, financially, he made many millions of dollars by moving his team, when he did. But, long term, was he right? Imagine if he had stayed in Brooklyn, stayed in that neighborhood ballpark, stayed until he got a new ballpark in downtown Brooklyn, stayed through the hard times, stayed until today. How much would that team be worth, today? Think of the Boston Red Sox with the New York Yankees earnig power. The Brooklyn Dodgers would be the single most valuble sporting franchise in the world. Financially, Walter O'Malley was wrong. And, historically, he was wrong. The stadium in the central city is a concept that will live, forever. Because, that is where the people are.

 


Who Is WestSideStadium.org?

WestSideStadium.org is by New Yorkers, for New Yorkers.

The founding members are West Side residents and small businessmen, although we welcome all New Yorkers.
We are dedicated to the proposition that a stadium built over the train yards on the West Side of Manhattan would benefit the entirety of New York City.

Below are the remarks of Tom McMorrow at our first organizational meeting. These remarks sum up our position.

Thirty years ago, when I first moved into this area, apartment hunting in New York City was very simple. First, you chose the neighborhood you wanted to live in. Then, you chose the block you wanted to live on. Then you went door to door , and within an hour you had an apartment, at the price you wanted. That sounds great , doesn't it? Easy, affordable housing.

However, there was a catch. The reason why it was so easy to find an apartment back then was because the city was falling apart. Crime was at an all-time high. The trains and buildings were covered in graffiti. Businesses were fleeing the city, women and children did not feel safe on the streets, and the population was leaving. The city had stopped investing in its future, and was using its capital expenditures to pay its operating costs. The 2nd Avenue subway was killed, all development projects ceased. The President of the United States summed it up in that famous Daily News headline: Ford to City: Drop Dead.

But we didn't die. Not only didn't we die, we came back with the greatest thirty years of growth in the city's history. Neighborhoods that had been depressed for generations like Harlem and the Lower East Side were suddenly revitalized. The entire island of Manhattan blossomed with growth- all except for this one area, located right outside the walls of this building. The Hudson River train yards.

Some t wenty-six acres of train tracks. That's what's out there. An area so desolate that not only did it not grow in the '80's and '90's, it actually went backwards. Train tracks and vacant lots. And it's been that way for 100 years.

Now we have a proposal on the table, a proposal of great vision. A plan to invest in the future of the city. To build a stadium as the starting point for growth for this area. A stadium whose structure will not displace one single person in its construction. A stadium that will serve as an extension of this same Convention Center, a stadium that will be the Mecca for sporting events from around the globe. The financing is simple. The New York Jets and the NFL put up $800 Million Dollars, plus a guarantee against any cost over-runs. The state puts up $300 Million. That's $1.1 Billion dollars of private and state money . The city then puts up $ 300 Million .

And what does the city get for its $300 Million? It gets a unique facility, a building that dwarfs the earning potential of any other stadium ever built. A Money-Maker.

Of course, this is New York City , so there is opposition. If you say the sky is blue in New York , there will be opposition. And that is where WestSideStadium.org comes in.

I place the opposition in three different groupings. There are the “ Well-intended but misinformed ”, then there are the “ Not in my backyarders ”, and finally, there are the greedy ones. The individuals who stand to gain millions and millions of dollars by killing this project.

We must not let them succeed.

This stadium, this vision, this dream can be killed if we remain silent. WestSideStadium.org's mission is to inform the misinformed, stand up to the Not in my backyarders, and expose the greedy for what they are.

We have just as much right, you and I, all of us to a voice in this project as the opposition has. Because if we allow the opposition to succeed, if we allow them to kill this dream, it'll be another hundred years before growth is brought to this barren, desolate landscape. Please join us.

 

About Us | | Like What You See? Tell us! | Hate what you see? Tell us!| ©2004 WestSideStadium.org