Three years ago, I wrote an article on hypothetical stadium for the New York Jets on Manhattan’s West Side. It was supposed to have been built for New York City’s 2012 Olympic bid. But after political quarrels and strongarming by Cablevision founder James Dolan, the stadium bid failed. After Monday night’s disastrous injury to Aaron Rodgers, there have been calls to eliminate artificial turf throughout NFL stadiums.
My thought: forget the turf. The New York Jets need a home stadium to call their own.
The Event That Brought the Request to a Head
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of a new stadium, let’s run it back to Monday night. In an electric atmosphere at MetLife Stadium, the New York Jets began their 2023 season. All the preseason hype reached its apex in the regular season. Aaron Rodgers ran onto the field with the American flag as the area commemorated the 22nd anniversary of the events of 9/11. It only took four plays for the excitement to be extinguished as Rodgers suffered a foot injury. It was confirmed the following morning that the quarterback suffered a torn left Achilles and he would miss the rest of the season. The questions began to surface on social media on whether the artificial turf had to do with Rodgers’ injury.
Natural Grass Now!
After the news came through that Rodgers’ season was over, the NFLPA issued this statement on Twitter:
A statement from our Executive Director Lloyd Howell on #NFL field surfaces: pic.twitter.com/pPsfve8W6j
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) September 13, 2023
This is a great point by Howell. If you’re an NFL owner investing high amounts of money in players, shouldn’t player safety be paramount? Why should professional soccer players get better treatment than players in the NFL? Fourteen of the NFL’s 30 stadiums currently utilize natural grass as their surface. Those teams cultivate their surfaces to fit the climate. Kansas City and Philadelphia incorporate a hybrid of natural and artificial while the rest of the league uses artificial.
MetLife Stadium utilizes artificial turf; in particular, FieldTurf Core HD. Since two teams share the stadium, the move was likely made as a cost cutting measure as to prevent constantly replacing the grass. What’s crazier is that the turf at MetLife Stadium was changed during the offseason to prevent such injuries! It was that irony which caused me to ponder the need of a stadium for the New York Jets exclusively.
Grass is Not New to the New York Jets
The thought of a natural grass field in a stadium is not new to the New York Jets. Flashback to the Giants Stadium days, particularly from 2000-2002. The Jets and Giants shared the same stadium and the surface changed from AstroTurf to natural grass. The injury which triggered such a move? In the 1999 season opener, then-Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde tore his left Achilles tendon on the same turf. Testaverde’s injury derailed what would have been a possible championship season (because Jets fans can’t have nice things). How utterly Jets-ish for the same events to happen on Monday night. Now Rodgers’ season-ending injury could call for the move from FieldTurf to natural grass. Since the Jets are co-tenants with the Giants, there might be some hesitancy on the Giants’ part.
My solution for the New York Jets ownership is to bypass this step and make the move to build a new stadium.
The Contract Catch
There is one catch when it comes to the New York Jets investing in their own stadium: their current lease. From my understanding, it’s a lease that renews every five years. Either they or the Giants must announce their intention to leave the year before. The current lease expires in 2025, and it would be nearly impossible to build a stadium in two years. It took over three years for MetLife to be built. So, the next hypothetical window to leave MetLife Stadium is 2030. With a new stadium, the Jets would have the final say regarding playing surface. And the preferred playing surface – according to many players – is natural grass. Northeast weather can make conditions terrible, which would call for a retractable roof. The Arizona Cardinals have shown that you can have a retractable roof and use natural grass as your field. Problem solved.
Will the New York Jets make the swap for natural grass? Time will tell. All I know is that they will have to make a choice. Do they continue to share a stadium or build one of their own where they control their environment?
