Giants, Jets revise billion-dollar stadium plan

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NEWARK, N.J. -- The New York Giants and Jets moved a step closer to their new home in the Meadowlands.

Officials from New Jersey, the Giants and the Jets said Friday they've made several changes to an agreement signed last fall that will create a new, $1 billion football stadium in East Rutherford.

Under the updated stadium agreement, the state would not be required to pay for $30 million of infrastructure costs around the stadium, said Gary Rose, chief of the governor's office of economic growth.

The stadium is expected to open for the 2010 season and will seat about 81,000.

The new stadium agreement comes after Gov. Jon S. Corzine earlier this month questioned the financial terms of the original deal, brokered by his predecessor, former Gov. Richard J. Codey.

The teams would also be allowed to collect money for naming rights to the stadium and the complex as a whole, with the exception of the Continental Airlines Arena and a new entertainment and retail development that is being built there.

The state also would drop its pursuit of a retractable dome for the new arena, Rose said. Team owners had said they would kill the earlier agreement if the state forced them to pay for a roof.

"Governor Codey made a tremendous effort to keep the Giants and Jets in New Jersey and today's announcement confirms the partnership that has been fostered between New Jersey and the teams," Corzine said in a statement. "The stadium that will be built will be a world-class facility that will set a new standard for football venues."

The owners of the teams said in a joint statement that they are pleased with the updated agreement.

"We are very grateful to the governor for recognizing the importance of this project," said Woody Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of the Jets. "We are looking forward to moving ahead and beginning work on the new stadium as planned."

In September, the Giants and Jets agreed to jointly finance the new stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex.

While the Giants will build their own training facility on a site within the Meadowlands, the Jets will move their headquarters and practice facility to Florham Park from Hempstead, N.Y., in the summer of 2007.

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press

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