Stadiums
Owner Harry Wismer sought out a place for the team to play their home games but was only able to secure the dilapidated Polo Grounds, which had not had a major tenant since the New York Giants vacated the stadium in 1957. The Titans played their first four seasons at the stadium—in the final season they were renamed the Jets. The Titans shared the stadium with baseball's new expansion team, the New York Mets, for two years before both teams moved to Queens in 1964. The Jets hold the distinction of being the final team to host a game at the Polo Grounds, a 19–10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on December 14, 1963.
Wismer hoped the Titans could play in what would become known as Shea Stadium beginning in 1961. However, funding difficulties and legal problems delayed construction of the stadium. Wismer signed a memorandum of understanding in late 1961 to secure the Titans' new home. That memorandum recognized that the Mets would have exclusive use of the stadium until they had completed their season. As the team moved to Shea under new ownership, they were, in most years, required to open the season with several road games, a problem made worse in 1969 and 1973 when the Mets had long playoff runs.
Feeling that this arrangement put the Jets at a disadvantage, the team announced in 1977 that they would play two home games a year during the month of September at the Giants' new home in New Jersey, Giants Stadium. Litigation began between New York City and the Jets over the issue, and in the lawsuit's settlement, the city agreed to allow the Jets to play two September home games a season at Shea beginning in 1978 for the remaining six years in the Jets' lease. In 1977, the Jets were to play one September game at Giants Stadium and an October 2 game at Shea.
In spite of these issues, majority owner Leon Hess was interested in renewing the team's lease at Shea, which was due to expire in 1983. Hess negotiated with New York mayor Ed Koch. Hess wanted the city to redevelop the stadium to expand its capacity. He also hoped to renegotiate other aspects of the lease—the Jets received no money from ticketholders parking at Shea. Hess's proposals met resistance from Koch. When negotiations reached an impasse, the Jets announced their intention to depart for New Jersey. On December 10, 1983 the Jets played their final game at Shea and lost to the Steelers 34–7. As fans pillaged the stadium for mementos, the scoreboard read "N.J. Jets" in reference to the Jets's departure to the Meadowlands.
When the Jets joined the Giants at the stadium, many Jets fans hoped the name, Giants Stadium, would be changed. However, the Giants, who had the authority to approve the change, refused. In an effort to conceal the fact that they played in a stadium built and decorated for another team, the stadium grounds crew was assigned to make the stadium more Jet-friendly during Jets games by putting up green banners and placing the Jets' logo over the Giants'. No change could be made to the blue and red seating bowl. The Jets were featured in the first NFL playoff game in the stadium's history, falling to the Patriots on December 28, 1985.
As the Jets sought to become a stronger franchise and remove themselves from their counterparts' shadow, the team entered into negotiations with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in an attempt to build a stadium on the west side of Manhattan, entering a bidding war with TransGas Energy Systems and Cablevision for the rights to the West Side Yard property—Hess, prior to his death, had been approached by former mayor Rudy Giuliani about bringing the team to the West Side when their lease at Giants Stadium expired in 2008. Cablevision was fixated against the Jets owning the land as Madison Square Garden, located only a few blocks away, would be forced to compete with the stadium. Team owners had voted, 31–1, with the Buffalo Bills the only objectors, to award the 2010 Super Bowl to New York contingent on the Jets winning the bid and completing construction of the stadium prior to 2010.
The MTA unanimously voted to sell the land to the Jets for approximately $210 million as the committee agreed that having the stadium would be beneficial in the long run. An angry Cablevision, community groups and transportation advocates were determined to derail the Jets' attempts at building the stadium and two lawsuits challenging the construction of the stadium on environmental grounds were filed. Though confident they could secure the stadium, their hopes were dashed when Sheldon Silver and Joseph L. Bruno, both of whom held veto power over the stadium construction, refused to support the project, alleging it would hurt rather than help the development of the West Side.
Defeated, the Jets agreed to enter a 50–50 partnership with their rival, the Giants, to build a new stadium effectively agreeing to a 99 year lease, which the Giants had signed earlier in the year, to remain in New Jersey. The stadium, known as MetLife Stadium, became the first in the history of the NFL to be jointly built by two franchises. The stadium, which is illuminated in different colors depending on which team is hosting a game, opened in April 2010 and saw the Jets and Giants open the stadium together in a preseason exhibition game. The Jets' first regular season home game at the new stadium was held on September 13, 2010 and was shown nationwide on Monday Night Football. New York lost to the Ravens 10–9. Team owners voted to have the stadium host Super Bowl XLVIII, to be held in 2014.
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