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37-660: The stadium would have been an all-weather facility with a retractable roof , allowing it to be used as either a 200,000-square-foot (18,600 m) indoor convention hall, or an 85,000-seat (75,000 post-Olympics) indoor-outdoor sporting event stadium. It was to be the new home for the New York Jets of the National Football League , who at the time of the proposal played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey , and were junior tenants to

74-581: A New York City -based transit interest group that advocates on behalf of riders of public transport. The organization is part of the NYPIRG (New York Public Interest Research Group). The Straphangers Campaign's main spokesperson and staff attorney is Gene Russianoff . "For three decades, Gene Russianoff, the staff lawyer for the New York Public Interest Research Group’s Straphangers Campaign, has championed

111-563: A field cost prohibitive. Installations throughout the world employ a variety of different configurations and styles. The first retractable roof sports venue was the now-demolished Civic Arena in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , United States. Constructed in 1961 for the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera , the arena was home to minor league basketball, college basketball, and minor league ice hockey teams before becoming

148-541: A fully functional retractable roof at its debut in 1989 . Architecturally speaking, retractable roofs vary greatly from stadium to stadium in shape, material and movement. For example, American Family Field has a fan style roof, while Toyota Stadium in Japan has an accordion -like roof. Most retractable roofs are made of metal, while some, such as the roof of State Farm Stadium , are made of water-resistant fabric. Although each retractable roof differs in these aspects,

185-626: A hinge, rather than on a track. Retractable roofs are used in residences, restaurants and bars, swim centres, arenas and stadiums, and other facilities wishing to provide protection from the elements, as well as the option of having an open roof during favourable weather. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) records show that David S. Miller, founder of Rollamatic Retractable Roofs, filed U.S. patent 3,277,619 in August 1963 for "a movable and remotely controllable roof section for houses and other types of buildings". While any shape

222-415: A large multi-organizational coalition opposes the stadium, while many of these ads were funded by Cablevision. Cablevision said that it was presenting arguments other groups had actually made and that it was within its legal rights in refusing to run advertisements supportive of the stadium on its local cable systems, while running many ads critical of it. The stadium issue was also a political issue, as 2005

259-428: A new sports and concert venue in such close proximity to MSG, where it would hamper the older venue's ability to secure concerts and other events, made Cablevision oppose the plan. Cablevision responded with an expensive advertising campaign and large lobbying budget and made a $ 600 million offer to redevelop the stadium site for housing and office space instead of a stadium, and they initiated another lawsuit alleging that

296-437: A replacement for Madison Square Garden . It was promoted by then New York Governor George Pataki , New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg , and Congressman Charles Rangel , but opposed by most of the local elected officials representing the area. The centerpiece of the city's bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics , the stadium would have been part of a larger project to revitalize a long-underdeveloped area, including expansions of

333-662: A rival proposal for West Side development without a stadium, public sentiment against an apparent no-bid contract for the Jets prompted the MTA to establish an open bidding process for the site. There were three bids, from the Jets, from Cablevision and from Transgas , a power company. On March 31, 2005, the MTA board voted to accept the bid from the Jets, even though the Cablevision offer included more cash up front. Attorneys for Cablevision announced that they would file suit to challenge

370-642: Is any significant threat of precipitation.) Depending on the stadium, weather or gameplay conditions, and the judgment of the officials, play may or may not continue until the roof is fully closed. If the game begins with the roof closed, it may be opened under some circumstances depending on the venue. If it is closed after the game begins, typically it must remain closed for the duration of the game. Some modern athletic facilities are using less-complex roof systems commonly referred to as open roofs . These are constructed with similar materials as retractable roofs, such as polycarbonate or tempered glass roofs. Hinged at

407-526: Is possible, common shapes are flat, ridge, hip-ridge, barrel and dome. A residence might incorporate one or more 3' by 5' retractables; a bar or restaurant a retractable roof measuring 20' by 30'; and a meeting hall a 50' by 100' bi-parting-over-stationary. Stadium retractable roofs are generally used in locales where inclement weather, extreme heat, or extreme cold are prevalent during the respective sports seasons, in order to allow for playing of traditionally outdoor sports in more favorable conditions, as well as

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444-615: The International Olympic Committee that they have the resources to support the event. Many Manhattan and West Side residents did not want the inconvenience, traffic congestion and resource drain that they believed the Olympics would bring to the already overcrowded city. The New York Daily News reported that 59% of New Yorkers were not in favor of holding the Olympics in New York at all. In December 2004,

481-466: The NFL and MLB , as well as from stadium to stadium. In general, if a game begins with the roof open and weather conditions become less favorable, the home team may, with the approval of the field officials and visiting team, request the roof be closed. (Such a scenario is generally rare, due to the accuracy of modern weather forecasting and a general err on the side of caution that keeps a roof closed if there

518-516: The New York Giants . The stadium was to have served as the centerpiece of New York City's bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics , but, after heated debate, the proposal was defeated a month before the International Olympic Committee was to make its decision. In the football off-season the building would have been used as an adjunct to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center for conventions and as

555-468: The largest hotels in New York City if built. Retractable roof A retractable roof is a roof system designed to roll back the roof of a structure so that the interior of the facility is open to the outdoors. Retractable roofs are sometimes referred to as operable roofs or retractable skylights . The term operable skylight , while quite similar, refers to a skylight that opens on

592-534: The Giants to build a new stadium in East Rutherford to replace Giants Stadium. New Meadowlands Stadium (now MetLife Stadium ) opened in 2010 and hosted Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014. The site that the stadium would have been built on is now being proposed to be the site of a 1,750 room integrated resort and casino by Wynn Resorts . The hotel would be 1,189 feet tall and would be 80 floors, making it one of

629-684: The Javits Center and the New York City Subway 's 7 service . It was going to host Super Bowl XLIV in 2010 along with a college bowl game with a Big East team to be known as the Big Apple Bowl. It is now part of the site of the Hudson Yards development . The stadium proved highly controversial because it would have been a major construction project requiring public financing . Though many of its opponents supported

666-533: The New York City bid could not guarantee that the stadium would be available. With the defeat of the West Side Stadium plan, Mayor Bloomberg and the New York 2012 campaign shifted their focus to the construction of a new Mets ballpark, Citi Field , as the centerpiece to the Olympic bid, but the 2012 games were eventually awarded to London . In reaction to the state representatives' decision to reject

703-605: The United States and the then-owner of Madison Square Garden (MSG)—home to the New York Knicks and New York Rangers —and the MSG Network , which broadcasts most of those teams' games. Although MSG was initially a prospective partner in the project, it eventually concluded that the design was unworkable for their needs. After MSG dropped out, the city and state decided to proceed anyway. The decision to place

740-510: The city (over $ 1 billion) was an investment and would create thousands of jobs and billions in commercial revenue for the area, perhaps leading to increased tax revenue that could be used for vital infrastructure. The rail yards were owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which originally negotiated privately with the Jets without seeking other possible buyers. After Cablevision presented

777-467: The city's environmental study was inaccurate. Cablevision's stance against the stadium proposal was cited as "a factor" in the NFL moving its 2005 draft away from Cablevision-owned Theater at Madison Square Garden to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center , ending a 10-year run of the event at MSG. (The NFL moved the Draft to another Cablevision-controlled property, Radio City Music Hall , in 2006, but

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814-512: The comfort of spectators watching games played in such weather. Unlike their predecessors, the domes built primarily during the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s, retractable roofs also allow for playing of the same traditionally outdoor sports in outdoor conditions when the weather is more favorable. Another purpose of retractable roofs is to allow for growth of natural grass playing fields in environments where extreme hot and/or cold temperatures would otherwise make installation and maintenance of such

851-402: The commuter advocacy groups Straphangers Campaign and Tri-State Transportation Campaign filed a lawsuit that challenged the city's estimate that 70% of stadium patrons would use mass transit or arrive on foot instead of driving. Many Jets fans wanted the stadium built, no matter what the cost. The stadium was also notably opposed by Cablevision , the sixth-largest cable television company in

888-440: The decision, and many other media outlets lambasted the MTA's decision as simply doing Governor Pataki's bidding rather than accepting a plan that would best serve the public. Public opinion was mixed. Some citizens of New York and New Jersey were in favor of the stadium because they wanted the 2012 Summer Olympics to be held in New York City. In order to host the Olympics, cities typically must build modern stadiums and prove to

925-793: The facility. A permanent, fixed roof was installed in 1998. The Centre Court at the National Tennis Centre , now called the Rod Laver Arena, in Melbourne, Australia opened in January 1988. It was the first retractable roof system installed in a Grand Slam tennis venue. The roof enables matches to continue during rain, extreme heat, and in the presence of smoke from bushfires in surrounding regions. The Rogers Centre (formerly known as SkyDome) in Toronto , Ontario had

962-710: The home of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL) and Pittsburgh Pipers of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in 1967, as well as hosting over a dozen regular season National Basketball Association (NBA) games in the 1960s and 1970s. The arena's dome-shaped roof covered 170,000 square feet (16,000 m ) and was made up of eight equal segments constructed from close to 3,000 tons of steel, in which six segments could retract underneath

999-400: The larger West Side development program, they questioned the economic benefit of a stadium that would have spent much of its time unused, as well as the general premise of subsidizing a football team that generates hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for a private owner. Opponents felt that the budget could be better spent on mixed-use facilities. Supporters of the stadium said the cost to

1036-415: The league eventually began to award the event to other cities as a three-day spring event, due to growing popularity that New York's venues could not easily accommodate.) The controversy spawned a political ad war on local television, with rival campaigns financed by the owners of the Jets and Cablevision. Proponents of the stadium said that the opposition ran deceptive television and radio ads claiming that

1073-637: The performance of all subway lines. Key factors include timeliness, reliability (service breakdowns), seating availability, clarity of announcements, and cleanliness (dirtiness is colloquially called "schmutz"). A separate survey checks the performance of public pay telephones in subway stations. In 2006 the bus "Schleppie Awards" were given to the bus lines that rated worst in "bunching," with major gaps in service (essentially, amount of deviation from posted timetables). The M1 bus in Manhattan "won", with 27.6% unreliability. The Straphangers Campaign also rates

1110-513: The remaining two, supported by a 260-foot (79 m) long exterior cantilevered arm. Olympic Stadium in Montreal , Quebec was slated to be the first outdoor retractable roof stadium at its debut for the 1976 Summer Olympics . However, plagued by construction problems, the roof was not installed until 1987, and was not retractable until 1988. Even then, movement of the roof was impossible in high wind conditions, and technical problems plagued

1147-639: The rights of subway riders," according to a 2010 profile in The New ;York Times . The group's name is derived from the colloquial term " straphanger " for transit riders who gripped the hanging leather straps to keep their balance while the vehicle was in motion. The Pokey Awards , a product of the Straphangers Campaign, tells the public which bus is the slowest in the city. They have been announced annually since 2002. The Straphangers Campaign also conducts annual surveys checking

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1184-536: The roof of T-Mobile Park is unique in that it is the only one in North America that does not form a climate-controlled enclosure when in the extended position; rather, it acts as an "umbrella" to cover the playing field and spectator areas during inclement weather, with no side walls enclosing the stadium. In North American major sports leagues , specific rules exist governing the movement of retractable roofs before and during gameplay. These rules vary between

1221-522: The stadium plan ($ 300 million in state funding and the MTA's transfer of the land) were subject to the approval of the state's Public Authorities Control Board. The Board's approval could be given only on a unanimous vote of its three members, who were representatives of New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver , New York State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno , and Pataki. On June 6, 2005, although Pataki's representative voted in favor, Silver and Bruno directed their representatives to abstain on

1258-567: The stadium's funding, the NFL decided on August 11 to reopen the bidding for the game site of Super Bowl XLIV . The eventual winner was Sun Life Stadium . The proposed college football bowl game (now called the Pinstripe Bowl ) is played annually at Yankee Stadium starting in December 2010. After the West Side Stadium proposal was rejected, the Jets entered into a 50/50 partnership with

1295-399: The structure's gutters, open roofs fully close and open by the mechanics of a rack and pinion system or a push/pull drive system. Open roofs are typically seen at smaller athletic venues such as country clubs and universities, and also in the construction of commercial greenhouses and garden centres for climate control purposes. Straphangers Campaign The Straphangers Campaign is

1332-567: The vote, thus denying the needed approval and scuttling the proposal. Silver, in particular, had vehemently opposed the project, saying it would divert money needed to rebuild lower Manhattan in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Asked if the stadium was dead, Silver answered, "It was never alive." Also on June 6, the International Olympic Committee released an evaluation of each city's bid, in which it noted that

1369-684: Was an election year. Some individuals, most notably mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner , suggested another location in Queens , which has large open spaces and was home to other sports facilities such as Shea Stadium (former home of the New York Mets and Jets), as a possible alternative site for a stadium. The Jets ownership, however, said that any site other than the West Side would be no better than remaining in New Jersey. Two components of

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