Hard to believe that going into 2015 we will be entering the 6th year of MetLife Stadium. I know that we have gone over the good and the bad about it in the past, but I'm hoping to talk about what can be done better now that we should consider it to be "broken in" at this point.
We are getting ready for a new season, so let's try to start positive.
The Good:
- I like the several points of entry/exits. As much as I liked the classic spirals of Giants Stadium, as I now take my 2 kids to the game, having more options to get in and out is a big plus.
- Food options are better
- The Legacy Club offers a good opportunity to see the Trophies and interactive history of the team. It makes for a nice stopping point before the game to take people who have never been there before.
- The 4 screens by the field give more options for viewing replays
- Stadium shop is pretty nice (if pricey)
- You feel "closer" to the field in the new Stadium. They reduced more space from the out of bounds areas to the stands. I know that in my seats in Giants Stadium, I was in row 11 in the end zone. My current seats are row 19, but I'm actually closer to the field the way the stadium is set up. Or maybe it's an optical illusion and I'm just stupid.
- Stadium lights up at night to reflect the color of the home team that week (Giants blue/ Jets green)
- Cup Holders! Yes, something so simple yet effective. I've lost too many drinks to count in Giants Stadium setting my drink down on the floor and either knocking it over myself or someone coming through the aisle.
What's not so good:
- Hate the dark grey/light grey color scheme. I liked the old red seats. But I get that in a stadium with 2 teams, there was compromise, but still just feels bland as hell.
- No real advantage to the elements anymore. The old stadium had character and once it turned to November and got cold, the winds would swirl around and Giants Stadium became impossible to throw against the wind. The Giants would build their team around it. In MetLife, maybe it's because of all the different exits, but the former wind tunnel effects are kind of gone now.
- To that point, the Stadium isn't as loud anymore. I know that we can go after the fans sitting on their hands, the down in front crowd, the PSLs killing off the ability for the diehards to come every week because they will sell to recoup $$, etc. But I think it goes beyond that. Something seems off in the acoustics of the place. I'm not an engineer so I couldn't begin to say if this is a structural thing. But at least from my experience in being in Giants Stadium from 1987-2009 and now 5 years of MetLife, the old stadium seemed louder.
- WIFI- At least MetLife decided to honor Giants Stadium by essentially not having functional WIFI. However, since Giants Stadium never offered WIFI and it has been packaged as a plus to season ticket holders is kind of a problem, especially in 2015. I hope the Giants or the NJ Sports Authority have this fixed coming into this year. And I'm not talking about the jackasses goofing around on Facebook looking at their friend's feed. I can't stand the fans that come to the game who don't know what's going on. I remember going to a game a few years ago and this one guy behind us was curious why the Giants came on to punt and my then 6 year old turned to him and said "because it's 4th and 10, of course they have to punt" (ps- no it wasn't Mook or DCPollaro). I actually want the WIFI in place because there are supposed to be perks to downloading the Giants app to see different camera angles during the game, replays, etc. Also, and maybe this is my fault, I actually like to check in on the BBI game thread to see if there was something I missed (ie- an injury). Taking a peek at my fantasy team during timeouts doesn't hurt either. Point is, the WIFI is barely functional during warmups when the crowd hasn't filed in, and pretty much dies as soon as the game starts as the fans get to their seats.
I know there are things which are in place because they had to collaborate with the Jets and with that comes problems. But I'm hoping that the Giants can make some of these things better from a fan perspective to go to the games. The NFL is going to have a very big problem in coming years having fans come out to the games as the home experience has gotten better (bigger HDTVs, no traffic, ticket expenses, etc.) that they need to find a better way to incentivise fans that come to the games. Yes, I love the feel of walking through the parking lot to get to the game, seeing all the tailgates, being there in the crowd when there is a big play, etc. But I also know a lot of season ticket holders who (granted some are getting older), would just assume go to a couple of handpicked games and then sell the rest.
Any other thoughts on what can be done to make it better in 2015?
The PSL contract assumes a lifetime of 30 years for the stadium, so 24 more to go. God willing, we'll all be alive for then.
After spending a couple of hours negotiating into the lot with a "blue" pass, you then walk through an almost empty "red" pass lot right next to the stadium. Its crazy because there are never any cars in there.
The selective memory of old Giants Stadium is kind of interesting. Does anyone remember trying to get through the concourse at halftime? It was impossible - by the time you got out to the rings for a smoke, they were already kicking off the second half.
Lower bowl seats are very good in MetLife and that's my big positive. Aesthetically, its awful (almost embarrassing) looking. How they fucked it up so bad is beyond me...
2) I have been to two games in the new stadium and it is not really because I would prefer to stay in the comfort of my home. It is cost prohibitive. To take my son, it would cost well over $300 for one game when you factor in food and transportation. I find that ridiculous.
3) The seats and views suck. There is less leg room in this arena. So, I don't give a flying fuck that the concourse is wider. In the upper tier, as jcn pointed out, any seat in the upper tier is worse than the last row of the old stadium. It is that bad. I now turn down some opportunities because on top of the cost, I just don't find it enjoyable to cram into a seat where I can barely see the action.
4) To a lesser degree, I don't find the food options better. I don't think they are worse. But, it is typical stadium fare. Maybe there are terrific options on the lower level or in the clubs. But, in the upper tier, where I have been, there is nothing to get excited over.
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Because they can't possibly fuck up the next one worse than they did with this one, can they?
The PSL contract assumes a lifetime of 30 years for the stadium, so 24 more to go. God willing, we'll all be alive for then.
Thanks
Is there any substance for placing this at the feet of the Jets or is this misplaced blame?
I don't think its too much to lay some blame for the lack of personality of the stadium on the fact that it is a shared stadium
Hello?
- I like the several points of entry/exits. As much as I liked the classic spirals of Giants Stadium, as I now take my 2 kids to the game, having more options to get in and out is a big plus.
Entry and exit suck in Metlife for upper deck fans. Giants Stadium had escalators that went directly to the 2nd and 3rd decks. Now everyone has to use the same series of escalators or ramps. As you exit from the upper decks, you eventually mix in with the crowd from the lower decks. It takes much longer to get out. Likewise, when entering the stadium, instead of taking a single escalator right to the top, you now have to zig zag your way through each deck. It sucks!
Again, not true for the upper deck. I have basically teh same seats as I had in Giants Stadium (Upper deck row 8 now vs row 7 previously) and my seats are much farther from the field both horizontally and vertically. In Giants Stadium, the levels were stacked over each other so that everyone remained fairly close (horizontally) to the field. In Metlife, the levels are stepped so that each level gets farther away. Metlif is also much taller (you could see that when both stadiums were still in place) so the upper deck seats are much higher than before. I used to have trouble reading names on the players' jerseys, now I have trouble reading numbers (and it's not just because of my aging eyesight).
Seems that most of the complaints come from being upstairs. That's one of the reasons I miss the turnstiles.
Is there any substance for placing this at the feet of the Jets or is this misplaced blame?
The Giants really should have told the Jets to take a walk. It's not our responsibility to solve their problem of not being able to build their dream stadium. Instead, we compromised much more in terms of design, fan experience, cost, etc.
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weren't the Jets' stadium proposals very attractive and ambitious, the one of which I remember being built in Manhattan?
Is there any substance for placing this at the feet of the Jets or is this misplaced blame?
The Giants had a brick design that looked more traditional, but with modern amenities. The Jets designs for the West Side stadium were ambitious, but had a look closer to what we have now. Regardless, I don't see how this stadium ended up costing nearly double what the Giants plans were going to cost.
The Giants really should have told the Jets to take a walk. It's not our responsibility to solve their problem of not being able to build their dream stadium. Instead, we compromised much more in terms of design, fan experience, cost, etc.
did the Giants ever actually have a design of this alleged more "traditional" building? I don't remember even seeing renderings. And a Giant only stadium wouldn't have cost half - that's just fiction.
The big negative things are, it's drab & gray. Not as loud, except for the playoffs. The crowd is definitely not as fun. They priced the fans out of their seats with the PSL's.