While the New York Jets’ and Giants’ seasons are lagging in the race to battle for the Lombardi Trophy, the real scramble is heating up across the Hudson.
The next Super Bowl may be played near Secaucus, NJ, but the cash is going to Manhattan. Secaucus, a town of 18,000 in the shadow of the 82,000-seat MetLife Stadium, wants to throw a pregame party for the rare chance to lure tourists in an effort to grab some of the $550 million predicted to flow into the local economy.
But it’s in competition with a four-day bash in Midtown that’s expected to pack 1 million fans from Herald Square to Times Square called Super Bowl Boulevard, featuring concerts, autograph signings and a 180-foot-long toboggan run on Broadway prior to the Feb. 2 main event.
It’s not the first time in recent history that volleys have been fired across the river. When the Giants won the 2012 Super Bowl, NJ Gov. Chris Christie said the championship parade should be held in his state. Instead, it took place in New York, which historically honors teams and celebrities with a ticker-tape parade in lower Manhattan’s Canyon of Heroes.
MetLife Stadium sits in East Rutherford, NJ, just down the road from Secaucus (and 8 miles away from Times Square). But even East Rutherford’s mayor, James Cassella, conceded to MarketWatch, “This is going to be a New York event. Even though it’s more of a New York-New Jersey thing, it’ll be promoted as a New York game.”