Although the New York Giants have spent the last year playing in the ultra-modern, high-tech, Met-Life Stadium at the Meadowlands, they started out with much more humble beginnings.
In 1925, the Giants played in New York City’s first-ever professional football game at the Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan, a four-stadium multi-sport complex. The Giants lost their home opener against the Frankfurt Yellow Jackets by a score of 14-0.
The Giants moved out of the crumbling stadium at the Polo Grounds in 1955, and began a 17-year stint at Yankee Stadium. It’s three-tiered stadium seating accommodated a much larger fan base. The Giants left there and played the 1973-74 season at Yale Stadium in New Haven, Connecticut, before moving on to Shea Stadium in Queens for another one year term.
By 1976, Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands was finally ready. The New York Giants were lured to the Meadowlands with the promise of having their own stadium and its seating capacity of 76,000 (in 1976), an increase of 8,000 more than Yankee Stadium. The Giants lost their home-opener on October 10, 1976, to the Dallas Cowboys, 24-14. Over the years, the playing field has alternated back and forth from artificial turf to grass field. Although the New York Jets left Shea Stadium to play in the Meadowlands in 1984, the venue still went by the name of Giants Stadium until in was demolished in 2010.
Construction of the Met-Life Stadium began on September 5, 2007, immediately adjacent to the Giants Stadium. With a construction cost of U.S. $1.6 million, it has the largest permanent seating capacity of any NFL stadium. The Giants won the coin toss, and played the opening game on September 12, 2010, defeating the Carolina Panthers by a score of 31-18. The New York Jets played their home opener on the Monday night football game.
The 82,500 seat, three-tiered, artificial turf, open stadium has only a 43 foot distance between the playing field and the first row of seats, one of the shortest distances of any NFL stadium. The distance from the upper deck to the field is less than many other stadium, an incredible feat of engineering considering that the Met-Life Stadium has the greatest number of seats. It has 10,000 club seats and four club lounges as well as the opportunity to go to the field level, just 5 yards behind the home team’s bench.
Designed to accommodate two NFL teams, the Met-Life Stadium can be changed from one home stadium to another in a matter of hours. An intricate system of special louvers and a hanging system was created in Germany that can easily switch to accommodate either team, lighting can be switched from one team’s colors to another, and a four-person crew works for 18 hours to roll up and replace each team’s end zone.
At ground level, a 350,000 sq. ft. concession surrounds the building and serves a scrumptious barbeque, hoping to attract would-be tailgaters. There are four massive 30 x 118 foot HD video display boards in each corner of the stadium as well as a ribbon board that encircles the interior. Spectators can keep on top of the game wherever they are in the stadium with 2,100 HD monitors distributed throughout.
