NEW YORK -- The New York Jets released details of their
planned West Side stadium Tuesday, featuring wind turbines and
solar collector tubes to generate much of its own electricity and
hot water.
"We envision this as being the greenest building to date,"
said William Pedersen of Kohn Pedersen Fox, the New York-based
architecture firm designing the project.
In addition to housing the Jets, the $1.4 billion stadium would
be integral to the city's bid for the 2012 Olympics, which got a
boost Tuesday with the news that New York was chosen as one of five
finalists to host the games.
Pedersen called the Olympic announcement "tremendously
exciting" and said, "We feel we have a stadium that sets the
right tone for it."
The stadium would be a rectangle bounded by 11th and 12th
avenues and 30th and 33rd streets on the far West Side of
Manhattan.
Pedersen said its design, which differs from the typical
circular or oval stadium, is meant to fit seamlessly into the
city's grid.
"It should feel as if it's very much connected into this
particular place and as opposed to a stadium simply looking as if
it could be anywhere, like a UFO landing from space," he said.
The south facade of the stadium would contain 25,000 solar
collector tubes and the walls would be topped by 34 wind turbines,
each 40 feet tall.
Pedersen said the windmills would generate almost all of the
energy for the facility when it is being used as a football stadium
and about 25 percent when it is being used as a convention and
exhibition hall.
The Jets, whose lease at the Meadowlands in New Jersey expires
in 2008, have committed to spending $800 million in private funds
on the stadium. The city and state would add $300 million each to
build a retractable roof and a deck over the existing rail yards.
The project, officially called the New York Sports and
Convention Center, would anchor the city's plan to redevelop a
large swath of that area.
Backers say the stadium would create 7,000 permanent jobs and
18,000 construction jobs and would be a good deal for the city and
state. But community groups and many elected officials oppose using
tax dollars for a sports facility when schools and city services
are facing a budget crunch.