N.Y. Giants and Jets open a new era as roommates

BY JOE FAVORITO

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

ON N.J. SPORTS MARKETING

Two years ago the fans and the media were treated to two new stadium openings for baseball in distinct areas with a distinct look and feel.

The new Yankee Stadium was just that, a large edifice with 21st century trimmings that really mirrored its predecessor in many ways. Citi Field was nothing of the sort. It was a more intimate ballpark and started a new experience for the Mets and their fans. They both had their positives and their drawbacks, but over time fans for each have settled in, the teams have adjusted and on we go.

This weekend, we get an official opening of a different sort. The New Meadowlands Stadium makes its regular season debut for both its owners, first the New York Giants and then the New York Jets. The issues with stadium licenses and available seats aside, each team has sought to make its fans feel right at home in its own environment on game day, as the use of technology moves all things blue from the Giants to all things green when Jets fans come in.

Memorabilia sites, photos, flags will switch so that each team can brand its own experience the way they feel their fan will want. The regular growing pains will be the same for each team — getting used to new locations for seats and suites, arranging proper parking and egress, dealing with kinks still needing to be worked out — but each team has their own new opportunity to use a state of the art facility to best grow its brand and make its own mark in the area.

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Yes both own, but unlike other multipurpose stadia of the past, the sharing is much less on the cosmetic side, and the teams will not have to move in and out when the other joins. Neither has formal office space in the building away from game days, and each has access for tours and fan-related events on non-game days. They are roommates with a distinctive individual flair.

Do they have to find ways to crossover and work together on things like scheduling, and the joint work that will need to take place for the 2014 Super Bowl? Yes. However the two mega-brands can still share and grow individually with the new stadium, and find ways to enhance the fan experience for their own fans, in the same space, without the worry of compromising the other team.

Separate, distinct and equal are the Jets and the Giants, and in many ways so are the fan experiences. So whether you are a partner or supporter who likes green and white or blue and red, you get the best of what a new facility has to offer, and can find ways to enjoy and enhance regardless of who is in the seat or building on another day. The best of both brands, one new facility, and a great way to start a new season of football in the area.

Joe Favorito has over 24 years of strategic communications/marketing, business development and public relations expertise in sports, entertainment, brand building, media training, television, athletic administration and business. Visit him at JoeFavorito.com.