ALBANY – Fueled by the battle over a proposed stadium for the New York Jets on Manhattan’s West Side, the money spent lobbying state government jumped 20%, to $144 million, last year, state officials reported yesterday.

The annual report from the state Lobbying Commission showed the football Jets had spent more than $6.8 million lobbying state government for the proposed stadium. But Cablevision and Madison Square Garden, which oppose the stadium project, spent even more – a whopping $22.1 million.

Cablevision, the cable television giant, owns Madison Square Garden.

“These are staggering numbers,” said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group, a frequent critic of the role big-money lobbying plays in state government.

David Grandeau, executive director of the Lobbying Commission, said much of the spending stemmed from the television advertising campaigns waged by the two sides in the fight.

The stadium project is supported by Mayor Bloomberg, who has said it will help the city land the 2012 Summer Olympics. The stadium project is also backed by Governor Pataki, but has run into problems with the state Legislature. The proposal calls for $300 million each from the city and the state.

Besides spending money on anti-stadium TV ads, Cablevision and the Garden have hired a flight of well-connected state government lobbyists, including Alfonse D’Amato, the former senator; Arthur Finkelstein, and Patricia Lynch. Mr. D’Amato is a confidant of Mr. Pataki, Mr. Finkelstein has been the governor’s top political adviser for more than a decade, and Ms. Lynch is a former top aide to state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat. The Garden has also employed the Glover Park Group, whose partners include Howard Wolfson, a top adviser to Senator Clinton.

The Jets have countered with their own well-connected roster, including a lobbying-consulting group headed by, among others, Kieran Mahoney, another influential Pataki political adviser. The group also employs several former top aides to Mr. Pataki, including Michael McKeon, the governor’s former chief spokesman. The Jets also enlisted top Democratic strategist William Lynch.

In 2003, spending on state government lobbying hit $120 million, an increase of 30% over 2002 spending and the first time it had topped $100 million. The 2003 spending was fueled in large part by health industry interests.

Information on the Lobbying Commission’s annual report was first reported yesterday by Albany’s Times Union newspaper. In past years, the annual reports had been made public at news conferences held by commission members, and such an event has been scheduled for March 23 this year.

The 2004 report was made available early to the newspaper, however, in response to a Freedom of Information Law request.