I think the current plan for 5,000 parking spots is ridiculous. The estimates here of the number of fans arriving via PATH or nearby fans walking is way too high in my opinion. Figure at least 300 spots will be reserved for the players, their families, staff and employees of the facility. It looks like if you don't arrive at least an hour before kick-off, you'll be SOL. I've always believed that if you do ANY project, do it right the FIRST time.
Unless you are taking one the smaller routes, it shouldnt be a problem. The NE corridor line is pretty good and almost as frequent as weekdays, the shoreline shouldnt be as bad but it might be packed with people coming back from the shore. Every other line is cut back but it is still doable. Like I said this is an option, Im not saying EVERYONE GET ON THE FREAKING TRAIN, Im saying that now atleast you can take your pick. Where as before its either car or nothing(at least for NJ people). Now most of the stadium is going to be filled by the surrounding areas, thats why Metro didnt build a 20,000 spot parking lot, not because they wanted to screw you but because there is no need for it. Trust me you arent going to be incovienienced by going to Harrison by car. Your all making it seem like 25K cars are coming and no one is going to take train, walk or bus.
So that leaves 4,700 spots left. How many people do you think are going to come alone? Lets say 1/4. Thats 1175 people. Another 1/4 come in 2's. Thats 2350. Another 1/4 come in 3's. Thats 3525. A total of 7050, and thats not counting another 1/4 of parking lot left which Ill leave open because we cant really say what the percentages are but for the sake of the argument lets say its all singles, that brings the total number to 8225. Thats nearly half the attendance of what we average now. The population of Harrison is about 14400. Kearny is 40513. Newark population is about 2M. ANd those are the IMMIDIATE TOWNS. Im not counting Lyndhurst, N Arlington, Jersey City, etc which are all about less than 2 miles from the stadium that add to that population and have direct train and bus routes to the stadium. If we just draw about less than 2% of the population in that area, we dont even need anyone else to come here. Again Im not saying everyone else isnt important, but that you are making beleive this is still Giants Stadium, where the situation is more like MSG.
Forunately for me getting to the stadium won't be a problem has I have relatives who live in Harrison and East Newark and could easily leave my car there. If push came to shove I'm close enough I could walk, albeit a 4 hour round trip, to the stadium. Bottom line on access to the stadium site for non-locals is that it is only slightly better than access to Giants Stadium. hopefully the short falls in this area will be addressed before they become a deterant.
East of the Hudson Fan Base There are probably more long time Metro fans with this issue than you think. Automobile access and parking would be a consideration for all Metro supporters who live in Westchester, Connecticut, Long Island and and the outer boroughs. My guess is that this group of regular attendees is substantially more than you think. Only MFO might know for sure. My guess is that except for package ticket offers they probably have no idea. As for thinking about people outside of NJ, I have not seen the economic impact study, but it seems logical that attracting out of state money to the Garden State might be one of the purposes of building this complex.
The flames from your massive hibachi on the open top deck of the parking garage will double as a search beacon for the masses converging from New York, Newark & even Connecticut!
Get your arse out of the car for once I hope all the people who need to get behind the wheel of a car before they can think of themselves as men aren't the same ones that have been complaining about Giants Stadium all these years. The MetroStars are finally on the verge of getting their own home and now all some of you can belly-ache about is whether it's convenient for your lousy cars or SUV's. If the parking lot isn't the size of the damn one at Giants, you'll be throwing a fit. Get over it. Life is more than some four-wheeled hunk of expensive junk. Don't many of you realize that a great part of the charm of places such as Wrigley Field and Fenway Park is that they don't have those enormous wastes of space known as parking lots around them? This isn't California. And while I've never been to Harrison, it sounds like a real city. Don't louse this thing up with huge areas of essentially dead, flat space. There should be houses and stores and (for you tailgate maniacs) actual taverns and bars for folks to gather before and after matches. That is what will enhance the new MetroStars stadium and make it different than the other ones being built for MLS clubs. It will be easily accessible by public transportation and not in the middle of some suburban nowhere. Be happy for that. Don't turn it into some ####ing dead zone.
For all of the bitching about how hard it is to get to Yankee stadium by car (and it's a complete mess, I'm not arguing that), they still drew 3.8 million people last year. A lot of those guys were from Jersey, Long Island, Westchester and CT, and they drove in. At the end of the day, I think people will find a way to get there, even if that means guys that work in downtown Newark parking at thier office lot and taking the Path one stop to get there. In all honesty, at GS last year there where times when the Fair, Flea Market and Devils games reduced the GS lot considerably. Did it bring it to under 5,000 spots? Damned if I know, probably not, but remember the bus/train factor. Even if you think it's not 10,000 people taking the train, say it's going to be 7,500. Compare that to the 2-300 that take the bus at current. I don't think it will exchange one fan base for another, but I think it will get some different people going to the park. Just for comparison, there are (if you include all of the lots for CAA, the racetrack and unpaved spots), 26,500 parking spots for a 80,242 capacity stadium at GS. That's 3 people per spot. Considering our current avg. attendance is 18k and the number of people who would take the train, we are fine at the moment. If you figure that attendence goes up and we routinely sell out a 25,000 arena and that 18,000 of those would come by car, then yes, it could be a problem, as we'd need 6,000 spots. Last year, during the baseball playoffs, I saw a number of people from Connecticut (on the metro north) taking the train to 125th st and then the 4 train to Yankee stadium. I don't think any CT people would want to take the train to Harrison (because you'd have to take the Metro North to GCT, then the 4 to Fulton and walk across town for the Path, taking about 2.5 hours from Stamford), but I think that speaks to how willing some people are to use mass transit. I used to go to Yankee games from Westchester all the time by driving to the 4 train and taking the subway from there. I think people from Jersey will figure it out, and people from LI, Westchester, CT and outer Jersey will learn to weigh the benefits of having our own place over leaving 30 mins earlier.
I dunno about anyone else, but if I were running the unofficial supporters club of the metrostars, I would make sure the stadium would always be referred to as Sixty-Day Stadium.
This may the end of an era. *sniff sniff* I highly doubt that the parking complexes are going to be tailgate friendly, even if there is parking on the roof. If we're lucky there might be a picnic area for us to drink and grill and drink. But expect it to be family friendly and under surveilence of Hudson County's finest. Nothing like 16A. If Nick does another online chat, I hope this will be a question for him.
Tailgates are ok and all, but give me a good crowded pre-game bar with a bunch of friends and Metro highlights on the TV 5 minutes from my place in the stands, and I'm more than happy.
ALso remember that there are already a few lots lots in the are, even in the Harrison side, so I wouldnt hesitate to say that the total number of spots is more like 8,000. You can do all that or just take the subway to PENN then the NJT train. No need to walk across town. Or they can take Subway to PA and take the bus to Newark, yes "the bus" but atleast the line to Newark is a more reliable one that already runs frequently and the bus drivers know the way. We all know the problems of the current bus to GS where the line isnt an established one for Metro games and you need to wait for buses to get filled before leaving.
Agreed. I hope there are several pubs and restaurants to choose among -- from family to rowdy. Put the money back into Harrison. One of the pubs could serve as a Nathan Hale's West for Jersey fans on away game days.
Stop being an ass! He is talking about the people in Jersey. There will be people who drive. Those who have to drive (you) and those who can drive or use public trans. Those who have the option will choose to use the trains leaving more space for people like you. There should also be parking in the neighborhoods surrounding the stadium on the streets. As far as forsaking the old fans for a new fan base goes(I can't believe I am addressing something so idiotic) but we hardly average 25000 NOW do we. Any new fans we pick up from Harrison will augment the current fanbase.
No offense, Metro_tico. My post combined your concerns about good tail-gating with the parking concerns of our Connecticut members. Like the stadium project, I was trying to be all things to all people. The plans include highway access and parking, nearby mass transit and local pedestrians. All that's missing is a dock for those willing to navigate the Passaic River! Perhaps your party will be featured on the (appropriately named) Metro Traffic Channel, joining views of the Holland Tunnel entrance, Raritan River bridges and the Paramus interchange.
Not that I think they'd pay for naming rights Metro stadium, but J&J has nothing to do with the Jets. Jets owner Woody Johnson is not part of J&J; he's just part of the lucky sperm club. It's been a couple generations since any Johnson family member contributed anything to J&J other than collecting dividend checks.
The Home Depot isn't a Cali based company, so I doubt there will be NJ based company with naming rights to the stadium. The games will broadcast well outside of the TriState, so the naming rights are up for grabs. If you really want to know which company will get the naming rights, wait for a headline that reads: "COMPANY X signs a new financial agreement with MLS/ Metrostars" followed a quote by Nick S or Don Garber saying, "COMPANY X has always supported soccer in America, especially in the TriState area".
When is the next meeting with our GM ? you guys could ask him all this questions and there are many. Maybe they could bus people in from another nearby parking area, and maybe you guys could try and convince Nathan Hale's to open another location walking distance from the stadium. Many of you assume that people who have access to public transportation will actualy use it, and we know that aint so. I do wonder why Clumbus Crew didn't capitalize on naming rights for their stadium, how much can it be made by it, is 1 million/year unrealistic ?
The Rod at Viagra Park? Seriously how about something like Johnson & Johnson Stadium at the MetroGrounds?