MetLife Stadium

NY Giants / NY Jets

About Stadium

Built in the Meadowlands at MetLife Sports Complex in East Rutherford, NJ, the stadium is home to both the New York Giants and the New York Jets. The stadium originally opened in 2010 and was called New Meadowlands Stadium, till MetLife bought the naming rights in 2011.

At a price tag of $1.6 billion, it’s the most expensive stadium ever built, and is the second largest in terms of seating capacity.

It’s the only stadium that is shared by two teams in the NFL, and its only equivalent in that aspect is the LA Staples center in the NBA which plays hosts to both the LA Clippers and the LA Lakers.

The stadium features a unique design with aluminum louvers on the outside and interior lighting that changes depending on which team is playing at the stadium that day. It takes two 8 hour days to completely change the facility over from a Giants venue to a Jets venue for home games.

The seats located at the 50 yard line are only 46 feet from the sidelines, which is the closest distance out of all the NFL stadiums.

The original plan for the stadium included a roof to deal with the cold New York Winters, however the plan was later scrapped in favor of an open air facility. This killed any hopes of a multi-purpose stadium that would feature indoor events such as the Final Four, in addition to the typical outdoor sporting events.

•Capacity: 82,566

•Opened: April 10, 2010

•Playing Surface: UBU Sports’ Speed Series

•Location: 1 MetLife Stadium Drive,

East Rutherford, New Jersey 07073

History

• After 30 years at the old Meadowlands Stadium, the Giants were in need of a new Stadium. Meanwhile, the Jets also were requesting a stadium of their own, in Manhattan. It would have also been the site of the 2012 Summer Olympic games in New York. However, the stadium didn’t attain the necessary public funding to go through, and the plans fell through in 2005. The Jets then entered an agreement with the Giants to break ground on a new shared stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.

• On April 7, 2013 it played host to the WWE’s largest annual event, WrestleMania  29.

• MetLife stadium was the first non-domed stadium in a cold weather city to host a Super Bowl. The Seattle Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos by a score of 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII on March 25, 2010 in bitter cold conditions. It was the 5th WrestleMania event in the New York Metro area, and the 3rd in the state of New Jersey.

• After receiving a lot of interest from companies, including some international companies, on August 23, 2011 the naming rights to the stadium were purchased by the insurance company, MetLife.

• The Giants hosted the first NFL Regular season game there on September 12, 2010 when they hosted the Carolina Panthers. A game in which the Giants won by a score of 31-18.

Past and Current Teams

New York Giants (NFL) (2010–present)
New York Jets (NFL) (2010–present)