March 10, 2005

Giant problems

Okay, here's the scoop on that New York Giants-to-Manhattan rumor: Talks with New Jersey on a new $750 million stadium there - to be built with private money on public land - broke down Tuesday night, over two issues: The state's refusal to promise never to pass taxes on tickets and luxury box sales, and its insistence that the team sign off on the Xanadu entertainment complex already scheduled to be built near Giants Stadium. Giants exec Steven Tisch represented this as "moving the goal line," while New Jersey Gov. Richard Codey retorted that "I think the Giants are getting into a lather over nothing."

As for threats of the Giants moving to the Jets' proposed Manhattan stadium, Codey said, "They raised the specter," while Giants exec John Mara said, "We're going to consider all our options," which is about par for the course for team move threats at this stage of the game. Whether the Giants could pull it off is another question: The team's lease on Giants Stadium runs through 2026, and though they can get out of it if the state doesn't maintain the stadium in "state-of-the-art" condition, the state can simply meet those demands by renovating the current stadium - which was the original plan until the Giants decided they'd rather have a new one.