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MADISON, N.J. — Cortland’s loss is Madison’s gain, or at least the New Jersey borough hopes it will be.
When and if the NFL finally settles on a new collective bargaining agreement, the Jets plan to hold training camp at their practice facility, which would bring a much welcomed economic boost to surrounding boroughs like Madison and Florham Park.
Madison mayor Mary-Anna Holden said a four-week training camp could bring in an estimated
$1.5 million in extra revenue from fans flocking into the area to attend the practice session.
“And that probably a conservative estimate,” Holden said. “We have a lot independent restaurants and shops, and we hope people see the town as they come through and come back another time. It’s a great destination opportunity for us.”
The Jets moved into their Florham Park facility before the 2008 season after spending the previous 40 seasons at Hofstra University on Long Island. They have held their last two training camps at SUNY Cortland, but because of the uncertainly caused by the labor dispute, the club announced last month it would hold all preseason activities at Florham Park once the lockout ended.
Speculation is an agreement could be reached soon, which would offer the Jets a full training camp. That would be ideal for the merchants in the surrounding boroughs.
“It will definitely have an impact on business,” said Marty Matousek, owner of Soho33, a restaurant on Main Street in Madison. “The additional foot traffic on the streets brings people into the restaurants and into the shops. I’ll run some kind of specials, maybe offering
10 percent off dinner and lunch with the mention of the Jets. Summers can be a little bit slower because people are at the Shore or in the Hamptons. So with an event like that with additional people in town, I’ll try to take advantage of as best I can. I’d be foolish not to.”
This won’t be the first time the Madison-Florham Park area has been the hub for a team during training camp. The Giants held their training camps at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison from 1988-95 before moving to SUNY-Albany. The Giants also recently announced that because of the labor conflict, they will stage their training camp at their practice facility in East Rutherford.
The Florham Park police department already has formulated plans for crowd control. They will implement procedures used the last two summers when the Jets held one or two days of open workouts at the facility, and also when nearly 8,000 fans showed up last January for a pep rally before the Jets traveled to Pittsburgh to play in the AFC Championship Game.
“We have been in communication with the security director for the Jets, and we’re just waiting for an agreement to be signed,” said Captain Robert Treiber of the Florham Park police department. “We have a plan in place that we’ve used for the numerous events they’ve had. We don’t anticipate any problems.”
Once training camp opens, officials estimate crowds of about 2,500 to attend each practice. Traffic congestion could become an issue. The practice facility is located off Park Avenue, a back road that is normally busy during rush hours. There is construction on portions of the road and at the entrance to the Jets practice facility where the headquarters of the BASF chemical company is being built.
“The influx of people along with the corporate people could be an issue,” Treiber said. “There is construction going on to widen the road on Park Avenue for the new BASF building. But we really don’t anticipate any problems. We have a good plan in place.”
When the Jets first arrived in 2008, merchants lined Main Street with the Jets flags and Jets jerseys in store windows. The scene will be repeated once the lockout is lifted. The Jets have two years remaining on a three-year agreement with SUNY Cortland and plan to return there in 2012. If this is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Madison and Florham Park plans to make the most of it.
“There’s a lot of excitement,” said Mayor Holden, who plans to wear her Joe Namath jersey from 1969 to one of the practices. “There’s nothing like the Jets facility that’s close to us. We’ll put up a wall of flags. It’s going to be exciting.”
george.willis@nypost.com