Giants Stadium

I can say that I have attended football games on two occasions since Giants Stadium opened in 1976, both times in 1976 and very early in the season. The NY Football Giants were dreadful that year and the second time I saw them we left early enough in the second half to be home in time to watch the end of the game on TV.

Since that inaugural season I have avidly followed my team no matter where I have lived in these United States, but never felt the urge to go tailgate and attend another game. The thought of tailgating in the exhaust fumes of the Giants Stadium parking lot never appealed to, though I am sure I would have had a good time.

I don't have any plans to visit the new Giants/Jets stadium being opened next year either, unless some bit of serendipity comes my way and a ticket is handed to me for free. This might happen sooner than I think since the Giants still have a load of tickets to sell.

As of March 2009:

"The Giants said Thursday that they had sold more than 70,000 personal seat licenses at the 82,500-seat stadium they are building with the Jets. The remaining unsold P.S.L.’s are in the high-priced club areas, where they cost $7,500 to $20,000 each."

This is for a franchise where the wait for season tickets used to be measured in years (133,000 people), though without the Personal Seat Licenses (PSL) to make them a true financial burden. As a bit of background, one buys the right (PSL) to then purchase the tickets for an entire season, plus boring pre-season games. One can later sell this PSL if they can find someone to take it off their hands. It all sounds like a scam to me and since I have always preferred the warmth of my living room to a frozen metal chair this is no loss in my book.

I am certain the new Giants/Jets Stadium will be a magnificent place to watch a football game. Though the wretched excess of the size of the place and the incredible PSL fees will no doubt curb my enthusiasm for a visit for many years to come.