Gotbaum: Stadium Could Top $2B
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum is holding a press conference this morning to warn that her analysis concludes that the price tag for the Jets stadium on the West Side could top $2 billion. She is expected to call for an independent auditor to evaluate the city’s stadium budget.
“This plan is loaded with unaccounted-for expenses,” Ms. Gotbaum said in a press release sent by e-mail to reporters yesterday. “Polls show that 77% of New Yorkers don’t want a stadium that will be a major tax burden, so it’s time for Mayor Bloomberg to come clean about the true costs.”
The City Council speaker, Gifford Miller, also was scheduled to give a talk today in connection with plans for the New York Sports and Convention Center. The New York Sun reported Monday that Mr. Miller – like Comptroller William Thompson – was also likely to criticize the proposed financing of the stadium, a project that Mayor Bloomberg has pushed hard and has made a centerpiece of New York’s bid to become host city of the 2012 Olympics.
The Bloomberg administration has estimated the stadium will cost $1.4 billion, with an $800 million investment from the Jets, and $300 million each from the city and state.
