Jersey City makes the short list for Jets home office site
By JANET FRANKSTON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
NEWARK - The New York Jets are considering five northern New Jersey sites - including Jersey City - for the team's new corporate headquarters and practice facility, including a former Exxon headquarters in Florham Park.
Also in the running: Wood-Ridge, Berkeley Heights and Millburn.
As part of the deal to jointly build a new stadium at the Meadowlands with the New York Giants, the Jets agreed to move their headquarters to the Garden State from Hofstra University on Long Island.
A final decision, made by the team with the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority, is expected by March 1.
The authority plans to either purchase 20 acres or enter into a long-term lease for the site, to include a 110,000-square-foot building and one indoor and three outdoor football fields.
The Jets sought land that would be easy to develop within 20 miles of the Meadowlands and Newark Liberty International Airport, yet accessible to Manhattan and near a range of housing, hotels and medical facilities.
Jets president Jay Cross said the team considered more than 40 properties.
The move from Hempstead is expected to generate more than $10 million each year in new taxes, according to the Jets.
George Zoffinger, president and CEO of the sports authority, said his agency will make sure the site makes the most economic sense for New Jersey.
A law approved last month expanded the sports authority's role to buy or lease land for the training facility away from the East Rutherford sports complex where the Giants will continue to practice on a new 20-acre site.
"I'm happy about the Jets possibly coming here," Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy said in a statement. "Jersey City, with its proximity to New York and all the amenities we can offer, is a great fit for the Jets."
Marissa Shorenstein, a spokeswoman for the Jets, said the team hasn't yet determined if it will also develop land surrounding the practice facility.
© 2006 The Jersey Journal