NJ Taxpayers Still Owe $117 Million On Giants Stadium

The New York Giants football team is demanding a new stadium in the Meadowlands. The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which operates the Meadowlands sports complex where the New York team currently plays, appears ready to cave into the Giants' demand. The two sides have been working for months to seal a deal to make a new stadium a reality. More posts on the negations here, here , here and here.

Taxpayer alert. The two sides seemed closer to a deal this week when Carl Goldberg, chairman of the NJ authority began to accept the Giants contention that the Giant’s owners and the new stadium deal should not be burdened with the authority's concern about paying off $117 million in debt on the existing 28-year-old stadium. The Giants insist that the stadium is owned by New Jersey and the debt associated with it should be paid off by New Jersey.

New Jersey still owes $ 117 million dollars on the old stadium and now the state is willing to blow it up to make way for a new one. How it is possible that after 28 years of operation New Jersey still owes anything on Giant’s stadium, let alone $117 million? Can the taxpayers of New Jersey afford any more sports facilities? What do the taxpayers of New Jersey possibly have to gain by agreeing to any new stadium deal? We’ll answer the question - absolutely nothing.

The Giants play in the largest sports market in the country and we’ll bet they don’t want to leave this lucrative market. The people of New York are against building a football stadium in Manhattan and we’re not aware of any other cities or states begging for the privilege of hosting the Giants. There’s always Los Angeles – just ask the Raiders and Rams how that city worked out. Wouldn’t you think New Jersey would have the upper hand in deal negotiations with the Giants?

It’s time we told the Giants if you want to play you’ve got to pay. New Jersey is famous for this arrangement; it’s time we put it to use in the taxpayer’s favor.