MetLife Stadium


MetLife Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States, 5 mi west of New York City. It opened in 2010, replacing Giants Stadium, and serves as the home for the New York Giants and New York Jets of the National Football League. It is also scheduled to host the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. At an approximate cost of $1.6 billion, it was the most expensive stadium built in the United States at the time of its completion.
MetLife Stadium hosted Super Bowl XLVIII and multiple matches during the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, including the final, during which it was called the New York/New Jersey Stadium due to sponsorship regulations. It is the largest stadium in New Jersey with a capacity of over 82,000, along with being the largest venue in the NFL.
MetLife Stadium is one of two NFL stadiums shared by two teams; the other is SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, home to the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers. Additionally, MetLife Stadium is the fifth building in the New York metropolitan area to be home to multiple teams from the same sports league, after the Polo Grounds, which was home to the baseball Giants and Yankees from 1913 to 1922; the third Madison Square Garden, which hosted the NHL's Rangers and Americans from 1926 to 1942; Shea Stadium, which housed both the Mets and Yankees during the 1974 and 1975 seasons and both the Jets and Giants in 1975; and Giants Stadium, which hosted both the Giants and Jets from 1984 to 2009.

History

As Giants Stadium approached 30 years of age, it was becoming one of the older stadiums in the NFL. The Jets, who had been the tenants to the Giants, were looking to have a proposed West Side Stadium built in Manhattan. Originally intended to be the 85,000-seat main stadium for New York's bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics, it was designed to be downsized to 75,000 seats for the Jets. However, it would have required significant public funding; progress on the project was halted in 2005 due to opposition from a number of sources, including Cablevision, who owned the nearby Madison Square Garden at the time. The Giants then entered into a joint venture with the Jets to build a new stadium in which the two New York teams would be equal partners.

Design and planning

The architects were tasked with designing a neutral stadium that would still embody the distinct personalities of both franchises. The Giants favored a traditional look of exposed steel framework and rusticated stone while the Jets wanted a sleek and modern look highlighted by metal and glass. With those features in mind the designers used the column/tower dynamic seen in many of Manhattan's skyscrapers as inspiration for the stadium's design.
The base of the stadium's facade is clad in limestone-like stonework while the rest of the stadium is distinguished by an outer skin of aluminum louvers and glass and by interior lighting capable of switching colors, depending on which team is currently playing–blue for the Giants and green for the Jets. This idea originated at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany; which was previously shared between the city's two major soccer clubs, Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich. Unlike Giants Stadium, MetLife Stadium can easily be reconfigured for the Giants or Jets within a matter of hours. The louvers' total linear length is exactly 50,000 meters or 163,681 feet.
Front row 50 yard line seats are away from the sideline, which is the shortest distance of all NFL stadiums. To change the field decorations, two 4-person crews take approximately 18 hours using forklifts and other machinery to remove the 40 sections of Act Global UBU Speed Series which make up the teams' respective end zones. Replaceable team logos at midfield were removed in August 2010, after Domenik Hixon tore his anterior cruciate ligament at a practice at the stadium during training camp. For the next decade, the NFL's logo was painted at midfield, instead of the logo of one of the teams, also shortening the transition time. However, in 2023, the Giants announced they would paint their team logo at midfield during their home games, with the Jets likewise doing the same approach. The paint is formulated to be easily dissolved by water to ensure it can be quickly removed, and as such it is not expected to be used when precipitation is expected. If the two teams are playing each other, the designated home team will have its configuration around the stadium. During their annual preseason matchups, both the Giants and the Jets will have an end zone with their team logo. Additionally in 2023, the stadium installed a new artificial surface called the FieldTurf Core System, the first multilayer dual-polymer monofilament fiber surface. The new surface also contains heavyweight infill. Overall, the system should be more durable and lower incidences of player injury.
Unlike a number of other new NFL venues, MetLife Stadium does not have a roof, as proposals to include a roof failed, over a dispute for funding. Thus, indoor events such as the Final Four cannot be held at the facility, which runs counter to the original aims for a new arena in northern New Jersey.
Ten giant HD-ready light emitting diode pylons, located at the north, south, east, and west entrances, display videos of the team currently in-house. The pylons measure approximately high by wide. Inside, are four by HD video displays, and hang from each corner of the upper deck.
The new stadium seating bowl is laid out similar to that of Giants Stadium and has seating for 82,500 people, including 10,005 club seats and approximately 218 luxury suites, making it the largest NFL stadium in terms of total seating. The seating bowl is also raked in a way that eliminates overhangs from the upper decks that would impede views and allows fans to see the full arc of a punt.
MetLife Stadium includes a total of four locker rooms: one each for the Giants and Jets, as well as two for visiting teams. The home teams have locker rooms on opposite ends of the stadium with a visitors' locker room adjacent to it. On most game days the visitors use the locker room at the end opposite that of the home team while the unused visitors' locker room is used for spillover by the home team. For games in which neither the Giants or Jets are playing, each team uses one of the visitor's locker rooms. When the Giants and Jets play each other, each team uses its own locker room plus the adjacent visitor's room for spillover.
In 2012, DLR Group partnered with NRG Energy to design and install a "Solar Ring" on the upper rim of MetLife Stadium. The Solar Ring consists of 1,350 building integrated photovoltaic solar panels assembled into 47 individual frames. The BIPV panels are illuminated with LED lighting and programmed to display the signature blue and green colors of the Giants and the Jets along with other hues for events such as concerts, soccer matches, and college sports. The panels generate about 350 KW, nearly 25 times the amount of electricity that's actually needed to power the LED display system. The excess power generated can go into the general stadium use or back to the grid.
In January 2024, renovations began on the lower bowl of MetLife Stadium to enlarge the playing field to meet necessary FIFA requirements to host the eight games, including the final, of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. To limit disruption of regular stadium usage, the project is being done in two phases. Phase I was completed in May 2024 and Phase II will commence in January 2025 and be completed in May 2025.
To expand the field's dimensions for the tournament and maintain the current NFL seating capacity and layout, four corners of the existing precast concrete seating bowl will be demolished and replaced with a new modular steel composite seating system that includes related mechanical, electrical, audio visual and plumbing adjustments. Additionally, 1,740 permanent seats will be replaced with the new seating system.

Technical agreements

Lease terms

The two teams formed the New Meadowlands Stadium Company, LLC, a 50/50 joint venture, to build and operate the stadium. The two teams leased the parcel of land on which the stadium stands from the NJSEA for a 25-year term, with options to extend it which could eventually reach 97 years. After the 15th year of the lease, and every five years, hence; one of the two teams may opt out of the lease after giving the state 12 months notice. The first such opportunity to opt out will occur in 2025 with a notice date of 2024. There will then be an opportunity to opt out in 2030, 2035, 2040, etc. However, if one team leaves for a new stadium, the other team would have to remain for the remainder of the lease. However, the high cost of building and relocating to a stadium makes it very unlikely. The teams also get parking revenue from the Meadowlands' western parking lots year round, even when there are no events at the stadium.

Naming rights

, a financial services and insurance company based in Munich, Germany, expressed interest in purchasing naming rights to the stadium. The proposal was for a period of up to 30 years, and was estimated to be valued at between $20 million and US$30 million. Allianz sponsors the venue that inspired the color-change technology for MetLife Stadium: Allianz Arena in Munich.
Allianz's proposal drew protests from New York's Jewish community and the Anti-Defamation League, due to Allianz previous close ties to the government of Nazi Germany during World War II. Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum, secretary general of the North American Board of Rabbis, noted however that while the survivors' sensibilities were understandable, a naming deal is legitimate, noting "I have found Allianz to be receptive, to be sensitive and a friend of the Jewish people today." No agreement was reached and talks between Allianz and the teams ended on September 12, 2008.
On June 27, 2011, it was reported that New York City-based insurance company MetLife entered discussions to purchase naming rights to the stadium. The new name, MetLife Stadium, became official when all parties signed a 25-year deal on August 23.