Tuesday, May 25, 2010

NJ POLS WANT TO BE IN THE SUPER BOWL STORIES

Yesterday, NFL owners voted Tuesday to play 2014 Super Bowl in the new $1.6billion Meadowlands Stadium in what may very well be the first coldweather championship for the world's biggest football game. The league made a special exception for the Giants and Jets to bid on the game. The announcement kicked off a flurry of press releases from New Jersey politicians as they desperately tried to get their names in any Super Bowl story they could. I have no problem with putting some of them in this blog.

Tomorrow, Governor Chris Christie and Lt. Kim Guadagno will be joined by New York Governor David Paterson for a press conference at the new Meadowlands Stadium. Yesterday, Christie was watching the vote in northern Jersey. He high-fived Jets center Nick Mangold and Giants guard Chris Snee when the vote was announced.

State Senator Jeff Van Drew, a sponsor of the legislation to ask New Jersey voters whether to legalize sports betting said, “With the Super Bowl coming to New Jersey’s Meadowlands, it is all the more important for us to push for legal sports wagering in our state. For one day, New Jersey could be the center of the sports universe, with the biggest game of the year taking place in North Jersey and casinos packed in Atlantic City."

US Senator Bob Menendez said, “Touchdown, New Jersey! At long last, the biggest, most famous and most vibrant region in the world has scored the world’s biggest sporting event. Hosting the Super Bowl will allow us to showcase New Jersey and to reap the economic benefits that a week’s worth of events and thousands of visitors will bring. I congratulate the Giants and Jets for putting together a compelling bid that centered around the masterpiece of a new stadium in New Jersey. It’s going to be an event to remember.”

State Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean, the original sponsor of a Senate Resolution encouraging the NFL to select New Jersey as the site of Super Bowl XLVIII said, "Today is a great day for New Jersey, our football fans and the numerous local businesses that will benefit from the game being held here. The Super Bowl will generate not only tremendous excitement, but also substantial economic activity that will benefit the people of New Jersey and the entire tri-state region."

Former Governor and current State Senator Dick Codey wants the world to know that the Super Bowl will be played in New Jersey, not New York. He said, “To all the reporters throughout the country: the game will be played in New Jersey, practices will be held in New Jersey, and the teams will stay in New Jersey hotels. That constitutes New Jersey residency."

U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg called on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to include New Jersey in every aspect of the promotion, marketing and events associated with the Super Bowl. In a letter to Goodell, Lautenberg wrote, "I am also writing to ensure that the NFL appropriately describes the site of the game as New Jersey/New York and not simply “New York.” I also urge the league to utilize and promote New Jersey in its marketing and events associated with the Super Bowl. To be sure, the entire New Jersey/New York region has much to offer and will benefit economically from the game. But the reality is that the Super Bowl will be played in New Jersey, and the NFL’s marketing, promotion, and events should reflect that fact. "

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