N.Y. Jets To Move Headquarters To New Jersey

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The New York Sun

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – On the town green, fans clamored for autographs from Woody Johnson, an owner and chairman of the New York Jets. Nearby, others jostled for the prized signature of D’Brickashaw Ferguson, the team’s first-round draft pick.

Ferguson signed the jersey of Elissa Jannicelli, a longtime fan, as she and a few thousand of her Florham Park neighbors helped roll out the green carpet yesterday for the Jets.

“We’re so excited that the Jets have chosen our town to be their home,” said Ms.Jannicelli,38.”We’re huge Jets fans.”

The NFL team, popularly nicknamed Gang Green, is moving its offices and training facility from Long Island to New Jersey as part of a $1 billion new stadium deal for the Jets and New York Giants at the Meadowlands.

The team looked at about 40 sites in northern New Jersey before settling on Florham Park, a borough of 12,000 people about 30 miles west of Manhattan.

The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which operates the Meadowlands, will pay $20 million to purchase the 20 acres in Florham Park, formerly an Exxon headquarters site, said the authority’s chairman, Carl Goldberg.

The sale of the land, part of a 420-acre office park, is expected to close in the next two or three months, he said. The team will pay to construct its headquarters building and will own it, but will lease the land from the sports authority, Mr. Goldberg said.

The Jets estimate the move will bring more than $10 million annually in new tax revenue for New Jersey.

The team is expected to move from Hempstead, N.Y., in the summer of 2008, said Jay Cross, the team’s president.

The team has hired the prestigious architecture firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill to design the building, estimated to cost about $30 million, he said.

“We’re looking to be a little bit different,” said Mr. Cross, who is trained as an engineer and holds a master’s degree in architectural technology from Columbia University.

The 110,000 square-foot building will include classrooms, locker rooms, a large auditorium, a cafeteria and a press room.The training facility will include three outdoor fields and an indoor field.

Mr. Cross said construction could begin as soon as December.

Plans must go through zoning approval first, said Mayor Frank Tinari, who received his own Jets jersey from the team at yesterday’s festivities.


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