New Jersey governor not happy with Jets, Giants

AP

We noted last week that the Jets and Giants are taking some criticism over their lawsuit to prevent the construction of a huge mall next to their stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Now the teams’ critics include the governor of New Jersey.

Governor Chris Christie told the Bergen Record that he thinks the Jets and Giants have done the wrong thing by going to court to attempt to halt the project, which could be a major source of revenue for the area but which the teams say will cause “traffic nightmares” on the 20 days a year that the two NFL teams are playing home games at MetLife Stadium.

“It’s not the way the business should be done, and I’m disappointed in the teams for having done it — and I’ll leave it at that,” Christie said.

Christie said he believes the project will still go forward, and that work will start up again in the fall. But a fight with the Jets and Giants will have to be part of the work toward getting the project done.

41 responses to “New Jersey governor not happy with Jets, Giants

  1. Hey Christie why did you strike down the Marijuana bill, claiming it would go against the federal government. Very recently you said you would allow gambling on sporting events despite the fact that the federal government had put a ban on it. Very hypocritical, but you know this. You have nixed a legislation that the area you govern supports, claiming you didn’t want to do something that you had just done months prior!

  2. Sounds like the Giants & the Jets want a pay-off to look the other way???

    The reality is, why should these two teams be able to hold up a project like this due to 20 days out of 365 a year???

  3. No good deed goes unpunished. Give a couple squatter teams from across the border the keys to a new duplex and they act like they’re important.

  4. Maybe the Jets and Giants should move to New York, since that’s what they call themselves anyway….

  5. Count me among those disappointed with Christie’s performance.

    Suggest the Michelin Man concentrate on governing instead of football.

    I’m guessing he’s not disappointed in Dunkin Donuts!

  6. If I remember correctly, the teams knew about these plans before construction began on the new stadium. I’m a lifelong Giants fan, but I can admit that the lawsuit filed by the Giants and Jests looks pretty stupid right about now. The traffic WOULD be a nightmare, yes, but again, they knew about the project well beforehand, and yet still chose to build in that location. Doesn’t make any sense.

  7. I agree with fly boy, the “New York” teams don’t want to be associated with “New Jersey”!? They should’ve thought about that when they built the new stadium.

  8. yette1 says:
    Jul 5, 2012 6:43 AM
    Count me among those disappointed with Christie’s performance.

    Suggest the Michelin Man concentrate on governing instead of football.

    I’m guessing he’s not disappointed in Dunkin Donuts!

    —————————-

    Another ignoramus with nothing intelligent to say goes right for the weight joke. Damn, you’re a sharp one.

    In case you hadnt noticed, this is a governing issue, and the Jets/Giants are making it a football issue. This is a matter of a lot of income for the area, and lot of tax money for the state of NJ.

    But hey, dont let facts get in the way of your ignorant complaints or anything.

  9. Please please don’t leave office before you fix some of the states taxes, especially estate taxes. It’s an embarrassment. You work all your life and expect to pass down your family owned business to the kids, and the government takes 40% off the top, and if you can’t afford that there goes your family owned business. Christie at least is working on fixing this mess made over the last decade.

  10. Maybe the state should place a special venue tax on the teams to improve the roads into the stadium if they’re so worried about traffic flow.

  11. I love how Chris Christie is blasting all the professional sports teams that have played in New Jersey when they can pay for his campaign financing!!!!

    First, he rips the former NBA New Jersey team, the Nets, to leave for Brooklyn after a two-year stay in Newark and now he’s ripping both of the football teams!!!

    Governor Christie, please look at Ted Kennedy’s successor!!! She lost because she ripped ex-Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling!!! Now, she’s the one who’s been betrayed after his video game company failed after it got public money!!!

  12. When the Xandau project was initially announced, the original builders agreed to leave it closed on gamedays. This was great for the Giants/Jets, as traffic would be a nightmare.

    The original builders went bankrupt. The new builders have decided that they want it open 7 days a week. The Giants and Jets tried to talk with the builders about this, and when it failed, they went to court to stop the building.

    In addition, Bergen County, NJ, where the stadium is has “Blue Laws” which requires stores to be closed on Sundays – which this facility would require an exemption from.

  13. When I go to home games, I pay $20 to park six blocks away. Is this mall walking distance from the stadium? It may not be about the traffic, it might just be about the loss of parking revenue.

  14. Could we please put an end to the “Why are they still called New York” complaints? How many teams play in a suburb? That’s where the available stadium land is in most places. No one is calling for a name change to the “Maryland Redskins” or the “Arlington Cowboys”… the Patriots and Panthers are named after regions, and the Buccaneers aren’t even named for land – Tampa Bay is a body of water.

    East Rutherford and Florham Park are New York suburbs… get over it.

  15. Well he could have said “are you an idiot”… So he must not have been hungry and irritable when he made the statement.

  16. starfan79
    Jul 5, 2012, 4:59 AM MDT
    Drew Bree’s would like a ruling.
    —————————-
    1st off, apostrophes are used to signify the omission of a letter or to show possession, neither of which was the case there. Secondly, please stop with “Drew Brees needs an explanation” comments. They’re dumb and overplayed. Especially when you’re not smart enough to use punctuation correctly.

  17. lolo376 says:Jul 5, 2012 7:05 AM

    I agree with fly boy, the “New York” teams don’t want to be associated with “New Jersey”!? They should’ve thought about that when they built the new stadium.
    ————————————————
    Well if you knew anything about football the Giants tried to change their name years ago but the LEAUGE you know the thing teams need to get the ok from wanted some off the wall amount of cash to change it

  18. Required traffic evaluation studies most likely were done to study the ramifications for the proposed mall and NFL football coexisting.

  19. Traffic nightmare? Where on the North East interstates do you not find gridlock everyday. If this project brings additional revenue, and jobs to the state of NJ then allow them to follow through on the project. Ideally, this would work out perfectly to have competed before the SB comes to town, then you would see how beneficial this project is to the state of NJ. Hey Mara, sometimes it’s not always about football. Get over it!

  20. Ah, Chris Christie, the man who cut library budgets in the state by over 40%, but fought for (and got) a tax cut for plastic surgery.

    In Christie’s NJ, it’s okay to make your boobs bigger, but not you brain.

  21. The Jets and Giant are asking that the mall be closed on the Sundays that they play that’s all.

    The question that should be asked is: Did Christie know about these mall plans BEFORE the Jet and Giants struck the deal for the new stadium and only THEN moved forward knowing that both teams were locked in. Also what deals does he have in place with the local unions for the constructions of that mall?? There’s more to the story than a fat politician with a microphone…

  22. When reached for comment, Jaguars owner Shad Khan is shocked and perplexed by this, Tiki is flabbergasted and Drew Brees wants an explanation.

  23. In return, the teams should remind Phat Bastard about the Hudson Tunnel that he canceled that also hurt business and screwed commuters from both states.

  24. Flabbergasting. Can you DO that?? Just keep people from conducting business because it’ll inconvenience your customers??

    Because if you can, I imagine that every business in that area would say that the NFL is the one creating a traffic nightmare…

  25. nzyme says:Jul 5, 2012 8:36 AM

    The Jets and Giant are asking that the mall be closed on the Sundays that they play that’s all.

    The question that should be asked is: Did Christie know about these mall plans BEFORE the Jet and Giants struck the deal for the new stadium and only THEN moved forward knowing that both teams were locked in. Also what deals does he have in place with the local unions for the constructions of that mall?? There’s more to the story than a fat politician with a microphone…
    —————————————————-
    The mall will be closed on Sundays since it is in Bergen County and both the Jets/Giants knew about this well since it was started before the new stadium

  26. It’s amusing to watch these Right-wingers argue over who can steal money from the citizenry.

  27. The Jets and Giant are asking that the mall be closed on the Sundays that they play that’s all.

    The question that should be asked is: Did Christie know about these mall plans BEFORE the Jet and Giants struck the deal for the new stadium and only THEN moved forward knowing that both teams were locked in. Also what deals does he have in place with the local unions for the constructions of that mall?? There’s more to the story than a fat politician with a microphone…
    ===================================
    the original deal with the original owners was that it would be closed on sunday. this is way before the new stadium was ever built. this place was being built a good 2-3 years before the new stadium was built.

  28. flyboy426 says:
    Jul 5, 2012 6:37 AM
    Maybe the Jets and Giants should move to New York, since that’s what they call themselves anyway….
    _______________________________

    Maybe we should make it a pre-requisite that your team has to win a Superbowl before you’re allowed to post on this site….

  29. electionconfidential says:
    Jul 5, 2012 8:52 AM
    Flabbergasting. Can you DO that?? Just keep people from conducting business because it’ll inconvenience your customers??

    Because if you can, I imagine that every business in that area would say that the NFL is the one creating a traffic nightmare…
    _______________________________

    The traffic from NFL games creates more opportunity for business in the area, it certainly doesn’t hurt it.

  30. fordmandalay says:
    Jul 5, 2012 8:52 AM
    In return, the teams should remind Phat Bastard about the Hudson Tunnel that he canceled that also hurt business and screwed commuters from both states.

    ———————————

    That project was cancelled because Christie knew New Jersey didn’t have the money to pay for it. What a concept! If you can’t afford it, you don’t buy it. If our federal government tried to live by that concept, our nation might not be $16,000,000,000,000 in debt right now.

  31. fwippel says: Jul 5, 2012 10:59 AM
    That project was cancelled because Christie knew New Jersey didn’t have the money to pay for it. What a concept! If you can’t afford it, you don’t buy it. If our federal government tried to live by that concept, our nation might not be $16,000,000,000,000 in debt right now.
    ——————————————————
    Uh we were still on the hook for a good portion of it, and if you ever had a train delayed by over an hour cause one of only 2 tunnels breaks down, you realized how much it is needed. Also, it would’ve brought more commerce into the state as more people would buy houses, live in Jersey, etc etc. Oh AND ALSO CREATE CONSTRUCTION JOBS!
    As far as traffic is concerned at Giants Stadium, the place is already a mess. I bet they didn’t think of changing it while they’ve been doing this massive project. They haven’t built any public transportation yet, and the current highway system there is a clusterf**k. So yeah, I’d be concerned that they won’t sell out games because people won’t want to deal with the traffic.
    And Christie doesn’t know jack about traffic in Jersey because he flies around in his helicopter we pay for all the time. Oh wait but that goes to your idea of New Jersey not being able to afford it, but they don’t buy it! Christie is a hypocrite that needs to be voted out.

  32. Smarten up people. It’s just a power play to get better infrastructure / roads built in and around that area.

  33. Id like to think my fellow New Jerseyans. Are smart enough to stay away on gamedays. Yes tourists from NYC will go to the mall however a majority will come via the train. The way the Meadowlands lays out, I don’t foresee parking being an issue. Rt 3 however, def an issue. In a perfect world, they’d building a double decker highway from exit 16 to about exit 10(edison area)

  34. This is also the guy who, when the Devils were playing the Rangers for the Eastern Conference title, was rooting for the Rangers. Way to support the home team Christie.

  35. spellingcops says:
    Jul 5, 2012 8:17 AM
    starfan79
    Jul 5, 2012, 4:59 AM MDT
    Drew Bree’s would like a ruling.
    —————————-
    1st off, apostrophes are used to signify the omission of a letter or to show possession, neither of which was the case there. Secondly, please stop with “Drew Brees needs an explanation” comments. They’re dumb and overplayed. Especially when you’re not smart enough to use punctuation correctly.
    ____________________________
    Not only are you correct, sir, but I like that someone who calls themselves spellingcops made this comment. 🙂

  36. Christie is an absolute meathead that simply cannot help but to put his foot in this mouth.

    The problem is, he can’t ever tell when he does it because his mouth is so damn big.

  37. Stand in line, NFL. No cuts! Gov CC is already feuding with Jersey Shore peeps, the Nets, Bruce Springstein……… Seems to spend more time talking about celebs then polotics.

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