On December 10, 1983, the New York Jets Played their Final Game at Shea Stadium. A devastating 34-7 Loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the aftermath of the game, fans tore through the stadium, taking seats, ripping the field, even trying to take the goalpoasts. It was a tragic and sad goodbye.
When the Giants build their stadium in New Jersey, it began to capture Owner Leon Hess’ attention. The Owner had begun pushing the city to upgrade Shea Stadium, and change the schedule to allow the Jets to open their season up at Shea, as opposed to six weeks of road games while the Mets finished out their slate. In 1977, Hess made his first attempt to move the team to New Jersey, but a settlement extended the lease for six years , and negotiations to upgrade Shea continued. In 1983, however, the talks failed and Hess officially agreed with the New Jersey Sports and Exhibition Authority to move the team to play with the Giants beginning in 1984
Since then, Football has not played single game in Downstate New York, and there have been little or no attempts to try and rectify the situation. After 38 years, the time has come to Bring the Jets Home.
Since moving to New Jersey, the team has been second fiddle to the Giants, and despite holding an even stake in the stadium, this has still not changed
Finding a location is a possible obstacle, one the Jets have struggled with before. Years back, the Jets tried to build a stadium in the West Side of Manhattan. Opposition fueled by James Dolan and local residents concerned about traffic, stopped that project. Since then, the Hudson Yards have been developed into a gentrified development site, but other possible locations exist, including the Sunnyside Rail Yards, in Woodside, Randall’s Island, The Nassau Coliseum site in Uniondale, The Aqueduct Racetrack in Jamaica, Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, Pilgrim State site in Brentwood, and of course, the area near Citi Field in Flushing Meadows.
A Stadium, particularly a domed or a facility with a retractable roof, would bring about potential benefits to the area in which its built, Super Bowls and Final Fours could be held in New York City for the first time, and the city would also have additional conventional space that could be used to host events as overflow, if the Javits Center is unable to do so.
The Jets moving out of MetLife Stadium would also alleviate some of the criticisms that teams have when facing the Jets, most notably the turf, which has led to a number of injuries throughout the league, as well as fan criticism of the stadium’s design being resemblant of a giant “air conditioner”
The Stadium would also provide a boost to nearby Restaurants and Bars, where crowds could flood in before, after, and even during the game, as well as other nearby businesses, who would see more people shopping and visiting them before game time.
But most importantly, the Jets would be getting something they never had before, their own stadium. Their own place to carve out a legacy, a chance to bring the game of football back to the largest city in the United States, and the chance to finally respond to the fans who joke about the Bills being the only team in New York State.