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MikeyChalupa · 06-16-2005, 08:25 AM

Plan B... Mets get a new $600M stadium to be built next to Shea to host the Olympics.

Link

Quote:

Planned Mets stadium to salvage New York's 2012 Olympics bid
an Associated Press report 06/13/05

NEW YORK - New York City's bid for the 2012 Olympics suddenly has new life.

In a last-ditch effort to land the games, the city will substitute a planned baseball stadium for the football stadium rejected by state leaders earlier this month, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Sunday.

"New Yorkers aren't quitters," Bloomberg said. "We just don't walk away from our future."

Bloomberg said the new stadium would be built on land owned by the city next to Shea Stadium in Queens and would be used by the New York Mets.

"Our revised bid will propose an Olympic stadium to be built in a facility that would also serve as a new home for our wonderful Mets," Bloomberg said at a City Hall press conference.

The Mets will build the stadium, which will be privately funded, for the 2009 season. The city and state will provide $160 million in infrastructure and $100 million to convert the stadium from 45,000 seats to 80,000 seats if the city wins the Olympics.

The Mets could play home games at Yankee Stadium, in the Bronx, during the Olympics, the mayor said. Mets Chairman and CEO Fred Wilpon joined the mayor at the press conference and welcomed the plan.

"We are delighted to join in today's announcement and help solidify our city's bid for the 2012 Olympic Games," Wilpon said.

The effort to bring the 2012 Summer Games to New York suffered a serious setback on June 6, when state leaders refused to approve $300 million in funding for a proposed $2.2 billion stadium on Manhattan's West Side. That stadium was to have been used primarily as the home of the NFL's New York Jets, but would have been renovated to accommodate the 2012 Olympics opening and closing ceremonies and track and field competition.

State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who opposed the West Side project, said Sunday night he has backed the Queens stadium during the entire Olympics debate. He said it will cost the state about $75 million for infrastructure, the city about $100 million and the Mets about $600 million.

"The stadium will be built independent of whether we're awarded the Olympics or not," Silver said. "Hopefully for the '09 season this can be done."

Gov. George Pataki issued a statement praising Bloomberg's efforts after last week's "disappointing" setback.

The city is competing against Paris, London, Madrid and Moscow to host the games, with Paris and London considered the front-runners in one of the highest-profile contests ever.

Bloomberg said Sunday that modifying New York's bid was essential for the city's future and he would continue to fight to win the Summer Games. He also said the security and transportation plans previously submitted in the city's bid still would apply.

While the mayor said the Queens stadium plan would be a "tougher sell" to the IOC than the Manhattan stadium plan was, he also said the new plan still was "wonderful" and would show the IOC that the city was willing to clear all hurdles to win the games.

"Nobody's going to stop us," he said. "This really would be something great for the city."

New York had been considering its options following the rejection of the proposed West Side stadium.

NY2012 bid officials sought clarification from the IOC and received a response Thursday. Citing an "exceptional circumstance," the IOC said New York could modify its plan but must go to the IOC executive board for approval before the July 6 vote in Singapore.

The IOC said the bid file closed Feb. 24, when the IOC evaluation commission completed its visit to New York. The city couldn't provide guarantees for the stadium at the time, and the IOC said New York had until the Singapore session to do so.

The executive board, chaired by IOC president Jacques Rogge, next meets in Singapore July 3-5 before the vote by the full IOC assembly. However, the board members can also make decisions by teleconference.

The executive board has the power to remove a bid city from the race if it determines the candidate doesn't meet the technical requirements.

When the state's Public Authorities Control Board rejected the proposal to spend $300 million in critical state money for the West Side stadium, New York's bid committee began "exploring every option," Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff said.

NY2012 leaders had been consulting with the U.S. Olympic Committee, which feared a withdrawal could harm the chances of future American bids.

In a statement, U.S. Olympic committee chairman Peter Ueberroth and chief executive officer Jim Scherr praised the mayor's office and NYC2012 for the new plan.

The New York Mess playing in Yankee Stadium? YECCHH! Well then again, the Yankees played at Shea for 2 years while their ballpark was being renovated. I really do like the thought of NY getting the Olympics, almost as much as I like the idea of the Mets getting stuck in another multi-purpose stadium for another 40 years.

-Mikey