Swamplands

For those of you reading and viewing this who are not from the New York City metropolitan area, there's a reason why it seems that there's a ton of hoopla around sports beyond wins and losses.

While the rest of the world, particularly the United States, had new stadiums and arenas built for their sports teams over the past two decades, northeastern depots like Boston, Philadelphia, Washington and New York were slow to replace their facilities. For various reasons - be political, economic or based on an area's physical infrastructure and space - these cities that were long known for higher-income white-collar jobs, large populations and even larger sports appetites were suddenly trying to out-do smaller cities such as Phoenix, San Jose, Cleveland and Denver in having the most modern amenities for their teams.

Then three of those northeast cities (Boston, Philadelphia and Washington) opened new arenas for their NBA and NHL franchises (TD Banknorth Garden in 1995, Wachovia Center in 1996, Verizon Center in 1997). They followed with new baseball and football stadiums later in the decade and into the 2000s (though Fenway Park has being undergoing selective renovations to add capacity). It seemed as if New York was not just falling behind the rest of the country, but their regional rivals.

And so, it leads us to an unprecedented time in the area's history as three outdoor facilities are being erected at once. Not since Shea Stadium was built forty years ago has there been a new major league outdoor stadium in the area (Arthur Ashe Stadium across the street from Shea is a tennis facility completed in 1997 and it appears that the MLS' Red Bulls have their version of the 'Bridge to Nowhere'). Earlier this summer, you got a look at the new Yankee Stadium and CitiField; both baseball stadiums being constructed for a 2009 opening. Now, here's a brief glimpse at the new home for the Giants and Jets, which is slated to open for the 2010 season.

Welcome to the new and potentially improved swamplands.

New Meadowlands Stadium