July 16, 2011

Past Venue: Giants Stadium

East Rutherford, NJ



Year opened: 1976
Capacity: 80,200

Names:
Giants Stadium, 1976-2010

Pro football tenants:
New York Giants (NFL), 1976-2009
New York Jets (NFL), 1984-2009
New Jersey Generals (USFL), 1983-85
New York/New Jersey Knights (WLAF), 1991-92
New York/New Jersey Hitmen (XFL), 2001

Postseason games hosted:
USFL Quarterfinal playoff, Stars 20 Generals 17, July 1, 1985
USFL Championship, Stars 28 Invaders 24, July 14, 1985
AFC Wild Card playoff, Patriots 26 Jets 14, Dec. 28, 1985
NFC Wild Card playoff, Giants 17 49ers 3, Dec. 29, 1985
AFC Wild Card playoff, Jets 35 Chiefs 15, Dec. 28, 1986
NFC Divisional playoff, Giants 49 49ers 3, Jan. 4, 1987
NFC Championship, Giants 17 Redskins 0, Jan. 11, 1987
NFC Divisional playoff, Rams 19 Giants 13, Jan. 7, 1990
NFC Divisional playoff, Giants 31 Bears 3, Jan. 13, 1991
WLAF Playoff, Monarchs 42 Knights 26, June 2, 1991
NFC Wild Card playoff, Giants 17 Vikings 10, Jan. 9, 1994
NFC Wild Card playoff, Vikings 23 Giants 22, Dec. 27, 1997
AFC Divisional playoff, Jets 34 Jaguars 24, Jan. 10, 1999
NFC Divisional playoff, Giants 20 Eagles 10, Jan. 7, 2001
NFC Championship, Giants 41 Vikings 0, Jan. 14, 2001
AFC Wild Card playoff, Jets 41 Colts 0, Jan. 4, 2003
NFC Wild Card playoff, Panthers 23 Giants 0, Jan. 8, 2006
NFC Divisional playoff, Eagles 23 Giants 11, Jan. 11, 2009

Other tenants of note:
New York Cosmos (NASL), 1977-84
Rutgers Univ. (college football), 1993
MetroStars/New York Red Bulls (MLS), 1996-2009


Notes: Hosted annual college football Garden State Bowl, 1978-81 and Kickoff Classic, 1983-2002. Used as venue for FIFA World Cup, 1994. Used as venue for Women’s World Cup, 1999. Hosted one home game of NFL New Orleans Saints, 2005. Hosted one home game of UFL New York Sentinels, 2009. Hosted Army vs. Navy football game, 1989, 1993, 1997, 2002. In addition to 1993, hosted several Rutgers Univ. home games and was also used as a home venue by other college teams on occasion, including Army, Navy, Princeton Univ., Syracuse Univ., and Temple Univ. Owned by New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. Field surface was originally AstroTurf, converted to grass in 2000 and FieldTurf in 2003. A temporary grass surface was placed over the AstroTurf surface in 1994 in order to accommodate the FIFA World Cup. In 1984, the stadium surpassed Chicago’s Wrigley Field as having hosted the most regular season NFL games. Often simply referred to as “The Meadowlands”, especially when being used during Jets home games. First football game was an NFL contest between the Giants and Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 10, 1976.

Fate: Demolished in 2010



(Giants Stadium, on the right, shown during construction of the new Meadowlands Stadium)