for display only
Big Blue Interactive The Corner Forum  
Back to the Corner

Archived Thread

Meeting Jay Cross Tom. - Metlife Developer and ex-Jets Pres

kash94 : 3/28/2023 5:45 pm
Random but I'm in a real estate class at business school right now and tomorrow we are meeting Jay Cross - President of Howard Hughes Corporation.

Cross was the former President of the Jets between 2001 and 2008 and most notably led the partnership with the Giants to develop Metlife Stadium.

If anyone has any (appropriate) questions - happy to ask. Like most of you, I'm not a fan of Metlife at all and view it as a huge wasted opportunity to build a fantastic stadium.

But still - curious to know the background that went into the design, etc.
I live in Las Vegas and the Oakland A's are going to move here shortly  
BocaGene : 3/28/2023 6:45 pm : link
They have looked at 4 different parcels downtown and one in Summmerlin (a mega planned community) with is NW of the Strip.

Summerlin is owned by Howard Hughes Corp and has offered a free piece of land to the A's for their stadium.

Summerlin is also of the Las Vegas Aviators, the AAA farm team of the Oakland A's. Their stadium (10,000 seats and sold out every game!) is also the top class of all minor stadiums at any level. Even has a huge pool beyond the center field wall for group rental.

A huge cohort of young A's fans have been nurtured here for the last 5 years and it is a very high income area.

So, what can he say about this? Does he have some current info?
Tuna can  
Simms : 3/28/2023 6:48 pm : link
I heard the Giants wanted a more retro bri k stadium similar to Indianapolis. The Jets wanted a more modern approach. Tbis the creation of the Tuna Can known to others as Metlife Stadium.

It took two teams to create this poorexcuse of a stadium.
Oakland A's aren't moving to Vegas  
Gary from The East End : Admin : 3/28/2023 7:31 pm : link
At least not anytime soon.


A's having been trying to use Las Vegas as a staking horse to squeeze more money out of Oakland and California and nobody is buying it.
Why is the upper deck so far away from the field?  
truebluelarry : 10:06 am : link
Is there a logistical reason for it's placement? Not only is it higher than the one at the old Giants Stadium, it is further back.

I sat there for a game a few years ago and felt like I should have brought a telescope with me to see the players. The upper deck at Giants Stadium used to be a perfectly enjoyable location to watch a game, very good sightlines where you could see everything.
What kind of public outreach was performed on the site design?  
BH28 : 10:22 am : link
Curious to know that the biggest comments/suggestions were
RE: Why is the upper deck so far away from the field?  
pivo : 1:30 pm : link
In comment 16077582 truebluelarry said:
Quote:
Is there a logistical reason for it's placement? Not only is it higher than the one at the old Giants Stadium, it is further back.

I sat there for a game a few years ago and felt like I should have brought a telescope with me to see the players. The upper deck at Giants Stadium used to be a perfectly enjoyable location to watch a game, very good sightlines where you could see everything.


Giants Stadium was designed with a more vertical upper deck, and it provided pretty good site lines. However, if you sat there, it was a little scary descending, as it was quite steep. Maybe it was ultimately judged to be a little unsafe for our litigious society. Met Life is more horizontal in the upper decks. Who cares if you can't see the game, it's safer...
RE: RE: Why is the upper deck so far away from the field?  
fanoftheteam : 3:37 pm : link
In comment 16077689 pivo said:
Quote:
In comment 16077582 truebluelarry said:


Quote:


Is there a logistical reason for it's placement? Not only is it higher than the one at the old Giants Stadium, it is further back.

I sat there for a game a few years ago and felt like I should have brought a telescope with me to see the players. The upper deck at Giants Stadium used to be a perfectly enjoyable location to watch a game, very good sightlines where you could see everything.



Giants Stadium was designed with a more vertical upper deck, and it provided pretty good site lines. However, if you sat there, it was a little scary descending, as it was quite steep. Maybe it was ultimately judged to be a little unsafe for our litigious society. Met Life is more horizontal in the upper decks. Who cares if you can't see the game, it's safer...



Id bet a penny that it wasnt steeper. It was just cantilevered versus what we have now.
Ask him what it feels like to be a part of  
the contruction of one of the worst stadiums on planet Earth.
RE: Why is the upper deck so far away from the field?  
Del Shofner : 4:03 pm : link
In comment 16077582 truebluelarry said:
Quote:
Is there a logistical reason for it's placement? Not only is it higher than the one at the old Giants Stadium, it is further back.

I sat there for a game a few years ago and felt like I should have brought a telescope with me to see the players. The upper deck at Giants Stadium used to be a perfectly enjoyable location to watch a game, very good sightlines where you could see everything.


This sums it up for me. There wasn't a bad seat in the house at the old Giants Stadium, and there are plenty of bad seats at Met Life, in terms of watching the game. There are good seats too, but why have bad seats viewing-wise?
RE: RE: RE: Why is the upper deck so far away from the field?  
pivo : 6:42 pm : link
In comment 16077797 fanoftheteam said:
Quote:
In comment 16077689 pivo said:


Quote:


In comment 16077582 truebluelarry said:


Quote:


Is there a logistical reason for it's placement? Not only is it higher than the one at the old Giants Stadium, it is further back.

I sat there for a game a few years ago and felt like I should have brought a telescope with me to see the players. The upper deck at Giants Stadium used to be a perfectly enjoyable location to watch a game, very good sightlines where you could see everything.



Giants Stadium was designed with a more vertical upper deck, and it provided pretty good site lines. However, if you sat there, it was a little scary descending, as it was quite steep. Maybe it was ultimately judged to be a little unsafe for our litigious society. Met Life is more horizontal in the upper decks. Who cares if you can't see the game, it's safer...




Id bet a penny that it wasnt steeper. It was just cantilevered versus what we have now.


Both stadiums have/had cantilevered (overhung) upper decks. Met Life’s 100 section appears flatter and deeper than Giants’, and the 200s are definitely deeper. The upper deck at Giants’ is noticeably steeper than Met Life.
Ask him  
Jersey Heel : 6:48 pm : link
When we can build a new stadium.
The upper deck is further away to accommodate more luxury boxes  
Gary from The East End : Admin : 7:41 pm : link
That's the bottom line on modern stadium design. The upper deck is barely an afterthought.
Back to the Corner