The controversial plan to build a football stadium that, combined with the already-approved expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, would form a $2.8 billion complex called the New York Sports and Convention Center is drawing closer to reality. The project, which has the strong support of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor George Pataki, recently cleared a major hurdle with the decision of the Metropolitan Transit Authority to sell development rights to the proposed site, a rail yard on the west side of Manhattan, to the New York Jets for $720 million. The project also recently secured needed approvals from the Empire State Development Corp.
The 75,000-seat stadium, which would include a 200,000-sq.-ft. exhibit hall and several restaurants, would enable the Jets, who currently play at Giants Stadium in New Jersey, to play in New York for the first time in a quarter century. The stadium also is an essential element of New York's bids to host the 2010 Super Bowl and 2012 Olympics.
The stadium and the adjacent Javits Center would create what NYC & Company, the city's convention and visitors bureau, is calling a "convention corridor" that would enable New York to compete for some of the nation's biggest and most desirable conventions and trade shows. Though gladdened by state approval last December of a $1.4 billion bill to expand the convention center
(Meetings Today, Jan. 17), bureau officials still view the stadium as an essential part of the complex.
"The passage of legislation to expand the Javits Center was an important first step in realizing the convention and meetings market potential of New York City," said NYC & Company chairman Jonathan Tisch. "However, an expanded Javits Center without the plenary seating and meeting room capacity offered by the NYSCC will force some of the largest and most lucrative meetings and conventions to go to other cities."
John Kaatz, a convention center development consultant with Convention, Sports & Leisure in Minneapolis, said a stadium could be an enhancement for the city, provided there would be enough groups that require that amount of seating and can afford New York hotel rates. "There is a trend for groups to want a lot of seating for general sessions, so it all depends on whether New York can tap into them," he said. "At the same time, no other major city in the Northeast is offering a stadium, so New York could use this as a real marketing advantage."
Before the stadium becomes a reality, it still must receive approvals from the state's Public Authorities Control Board. Another possible stumbling block is a lawsuit filed by Cablevision Systems Corp., owners of nearby Madison Square Garden, which submitted a higher bid for the site that was turned down. Some citizens' groups also oppose the stadium because of congestion issues.
Even some people in the local tourism industry are not sold on the need for a stadium. While enthusiastic about the Javits Center expansion, Rachel Dworsky, president of the New York chapter of the Society of Incentive & Travel Executives, doesn't view a stadium as an asset for corporate events. "There would have to be tremendous redevelopment of the surrounding area to make it an attractive place for corporate events," said Dworsky, owner of Destination New York LLC, a destination management company. "We're not utilizing the stadiums we have now, so why would we use this one?"
A New York-based hospitality industry consultant, who requested anonymity, also expressed reservations. "The stadium is not a good idea尃t's spending a lot of money on something that will not bring good return," he said. "Even it does attract larger shows, there is still not enough reason to justify it."
Taking the opposite view is Patrick Reilly, president of PRA Destination Management in New York. "The stadium would be a fabulous addition to New York and would be great for corporate entertaining and high-level sales meetings," he said. "We're already taking executives to Yankees games, so this would be great for the winter. It will undoubtedly have luxury boxes that are great for entertaining. It would be a real perk."
Reilly also believes the stadium will go a long way towards creating a new destination on Manhattan's west side. "It's bound to spark new hotels, new housing帨he creation of a whole new neighborhood where there is currently nothing," he said. "It would be similar to what happened in San Francisco when the Moscone Convention Center completely transformed the surrounding area. People are often leery of these developments, but the benefits are there."
Although a bit concerned about traffic conditions in the stadium area, Karen Shackman, president of Shackman Associates International, a New York-based DMC, also said the facility would be an asset. "We're in such short supply of spaces for events in New York that the stadium would be really useful," she said. "We would want to be at the forefront of offering it to our clients."