Heads or tails, Giants or Jets — who will get to play the first home game at the New Meadowlands Stadium?
Newyorkjets.com reports the NFL will award the first regular-season game at the shared billion-dollar stadium using a coin toss, perhaps held this coming week.
“The Jets have presented a plan for the flip at the new stadium in the week ahead to make this decision easy,” the team’s Web site says. “The details of the 50-50 proposition have yet to be fully worked out with the league, but the Jets are willing to let the verdict be determined the same way that the league’s teams have settled some scores for decades.”
The report points out the NFL has used a coin toss as an arbiter for years, ranging from the opening kickoff of games and overtime, to draft positions, to playoff tiebreakers (though it never has reached that 12th criterion).
The date, time and other details of this flip have not been determined, according to the report.
“It’s quite possible … fans may be invited into the stadium to observe the proceedings and cheer on their side, meaning their team as well as their team’s side of the medallion,” the report says.
The stadium is scheduled to open this spring for international soccer games and concerts, before preseason football in August and regular-season games beginning in September.
The Jets played the final game at the old Giants Stadium in January.
The teams are expected to present a joint bid for the stadium to be the site of the 2014 Super Bowl.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello would not confirm a flip would occur, telling The Associated Press that commissioner Roger Goodell determines the schedule.
“We have no announcements to make about the schedule at this point,” Aiello said.