Giants Stadium
Encyclopedia
Giants Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium
, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey
, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex
. Maximum seating capacity
was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m (756 ft) long, 180.5 m (592 ft) wide and 44 m (144 ft) high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m (178 ft) high to the top of the south tower respectively. The volume of the stadium was 1,830,000 cubic meters (64,500,000 cubic feet). 13,500 tons of structural steel were used in the building process and 29,200 tons of concrete were poured.
It was owned and operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
(NJSEA).
It primarily served as the home stadium
for the New York Giants
and New York Jets
American football
teams of the NFL
, but was rented for concerts and many other special events.
The stadium was located at State Route 120 and State Route 3 (which is accessed from Midtown Manhattan
via the Lincoln Tunnel
). The New Jersey Turnpike
was also close by.
It was demolished in 2010. It was replaced by MetLife Stadium, located adjacent to the former site of Giants Stadium.
sporting venue in New Jersey
(though the Brooklyn Dodgers had played seven home games at Roosevelt Stadium
in Jersey City in 1956 & 1957), and its success, along with that of the Giants in the 1980s was a major impetus behind increased pride and enthusiasm among New Jersey residents.
. College football
made its debut at Giants Stadium on October 23, 1976, with Rutgers University
defeating Columbia
47–0 and extending their winning streak to 14 games.
The New York Giants played their first home opener in the stadium on September 18 of the 1977 season
(a 20–17 win over the Washington Redskins
).
of the USFL; the New York/New Jersey Knights
of the World League of American Football
; and the New York/New Jersey Hitmen
of the XFL
. The New York Sentinels
played one game at the stadium in the United Football League inaugural season.
In the second week of the 2005 season
, the New Orleans Saints
used the stadium for a "home" game against the Giants because of extensive damage to the Louisiana Superdome
after Hurricane Katrina
. One end zone
was painted in Saints colors, Saints banners were hung on the walls around the sidelines, and the Saints wore their home jerseys. The game was rescheduled to a Monday night with a special start time of 7:30 PM EDT
, preceding the other scheduled game on Monday Night Football
. The Giants were normally not visitors at Giants Stadium unless they were playing the Jets (and vice versa).
from 1978–1981; the Kickoff Classic
from 1983 to 2002; the New York Urban League Classic since 1981; a number of Rutgers homes games (including all their home games during the 1993 season
); several Notre Dame
–Navy
and Notre Dame–Army
games; and the Army–Navy Game on three occasions, most recently in 2002
. Syracuse
also played two home games at Giants Stadium during the 1979 season
, against West Virginia
and Penn State, while the Carrier Dome
was under construction. Columbia also played some home games at Giants Stadium in 1983
, due to construction at its home stadium. Temple
, needing a home field due to a schedule conflict with Veterans Stadium
in Philadelphia, used Giants Stadium as their home field versus Penn State
in September 1996
. Princeton
also played one home game at Giants Stadium (against Yale
) during the construction of Princeton's new stadium in 1997
.
of the North American Soccer League
moved to Giants Stadium for the 1977 season and remained until the league folded in 1985.
Seven games of the 1994 FIFA World Cup
soccer tournament were held at Giants Stadium (including the Italy
v Bulgaria
semi-final), along with several games of the 1999 Women's World Cup
. In 2003, the SuperCoppa Italiana
, an annual match pitting the winners of Serie A
(Italy
's top division) and the Coppa Italia
(Italian Cup), was held in Giants Stadium instead of in Italy because both clubs involved (Juventus and AC Milan) were touring the United States late in the summer, when the event is normally scheduled. In 2005, the stadium played host to several matches in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, including the final, which saw the USA
defeat Panama
, 3–1 in a penalty shootout
after the sides played to a scoreless draw. It again held the final 4 years later for the CONCACAF Gold Cup
which saw Mexico
defeat the USA
5-0. It has seen many European soccer tours in recent years, hosting games involving such major soccer clubs as Manchester United
, Rangers F.C.
, Celtic F.C, Chelsea
, Liverpool
, F.C Barcelona
, and many others.
It also hosted England
's 3-2 victory over Colombia
on May 31, 2005. That match saw Peter Crouch
and Robert Green
make their England debut.
The New York Red Bulls (formerly the New York/New Jersey MetroStars) of Major League Soccer
played at the stadium for their first fourteen seasons. They moved to the soccer-specific Red Bull Arena in nearby Harrison, New Jersey
in 2010.
The second largest crowd to ever attend an event at Giants Stadium was 82,948, as Pope John Paul II
celebrated Mass during a rainstorm on October 5, 1995. The record was broken on September 24, 2009 with an attendance of 84,472 at the U2
concert.
's final A Conspiracy of Hope Benefit Concert on June 15, 1986. The show was a sold-out, all-day event, running from noon until 11 p.m. and broadcast on MTV
. The show was headlined by U2
and Sting and also featured Bryan Adams
, Peter Gabriel
, Lou Reed
, Joan Baez
, The Neville Brothers
and The Police
. Additional artists that performed include John Eddie
, with Max Weinberg
, Third World
, The Hooters
, Peter, Paul and Mary
, Steven van Zandt
, with Bob Geldof
, Stanley Jordan
, Joan Armatrading
, Jackson Browne
, Rubén Blades
, with Fela Kuti
and Carlos Santana
, Yoko Ono
, Howard Jones
, Miles Davis
and Joni Mitchell
. Spoken introductions were made by Billy Graham
, Bill Bradley
, Darryl Hannah, Robert DeNiro, Christopher Reeve
, Michael J. Fox
and Muhammed Ali. Pete Townshend
was scheduled to perform, but cancelled at the last minute, when his father, Cliff Townshend, became gravely ill, which would have been his first US solo appearance. This also marked The Police's final full-live performance together, until their 2007 Reunion Tour
, 21 years later.
The stadium played host to The Tattoo the Earth
Tour on July 20, 2000. The show featured performances by Slipknot
, Slayer
, Sevendust
, Sepultura
, Hed PE, Mudvayne
, downset.
, Hatebreed
, Full Devil Jacket
, Famous, Amen
, U.P.O.
, Nothingface
, PPM, Cold
, Relative Ash, Systematic, Six Feet Under
, Candiria
, Lamb of God
, God Forbid
, Darkest Hour, Unearth
, All That Remains
, Dropkick Murphys
, Sick of It All
, Tiger Army
, Converge
, The Unseen, Reach the Sky
, Stretch Arm Strong
, Kill Your Idols
and Nashville Pussy
, including the only appearance by Metallica
during the tour and also featured 42 tattoo artists from Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Malaysia, Manitoba, Spain, Switzerland and the US.
The stadium has also played host to music festivals, including The Monsters of Rock Festival
, Ozzfest
and The Bamboozle
(in the parking lot, annually, since 2003).
Many locals say it is the home turf of Bruce Springsteen
& The E Street Band
, due to the fact that they came from Freehold, New Jersey
.
Metallica
and Guns N' Roses
brought the Guns N' Roses/Metallica Stadium Tour
to the stadium twice on July 18, 1992 and July 29, 1992, with Faith No More
as their opening act on both dates.
To accommodate these varied events, Giants Stadium has sported various playing surfaces in its history. From its opening until the end of the 1999 NFL season, Giants Stadium sported an AstroTurf
playing surface. This surface was covered by Bermuda grass sod
for the World Cup in 1994, identical to that at the Rose Bowl
where the other semifinal and the finals were held (so that both teams in the finals would have played on identical surfaces). The grass was removed after the World Cup, as it would have died in the New Jersey winter. The MetroStars installed a grass field with interchangeable trays each spring that was removed prior to football season, forcing the team to play the remainder of its season on the AstroTurf field used by the football teams. (It should be noted that when the New York Cosmos
called Giants Stadium home, they played on the stadium's artificial surface and never used a grass field.)
The AstroTurf was replaced in 2000 by a system of interchangeable grass
trays similar to those put in place for soccer, but was kept in place under the trays to aid in draining the field when it got wet. Over the three seasons Giants Stadium used a grass surface, the conditions would worsen as the season went on and the field quality was typically rated just as low as the old, hard AstroTurf had been. Giants Stadium finally scrapped the grass in favor of FieldTurf
for the 2003 season, and the surface remained in place until the stadium closed.
When the New York Jets
left Shea Stadium
and moved to Giants Stadium in 1984, many predicted the stadium would be renamed. Understandably, the Jets organization preferred not to reside in a facility named after another team. However, under the terms of the stadium lease, changing the name of the stadium required the approval of the Giants and they were unwilling to do so. As such, for years afterward the Jets referred to Giants Stadium as "The Meadowlands" whenever they played there. Eventually the Jets began referring to the stadium by its name.
Thanks largely to the dual occupancy of Giants Stadium by two NFL teams since 1984, it surpassed Wrigley Field
(home of the Chicago Bears
for fifty seasons) as the venue to have hosted more NFL games than any other in league history. The game played between the Jets
and Miami Dolphins
on September 14, 2003 was the 366th regular season NFL game at Giants Stadium breaking Wrigley's regular season record.
Since the stadium was originally built for the Giants, the stadium's lower walls were blue and the seats and the stadium's four gates were red and blue to reflect that. When the Jets moved in, green banners were hung over the walls and eventually over the outer gates of the stadium anytime the team hosted a game.
In mid-December, traditionally the stadium hosted a Saturday-Sunday NFL doubleheader, with the Giants playing a home game one day and the Jets playing the other. The night between the games was a challenge for the stadium grounds crew, as they only had hours to convert the stadium from one team's colors to the other. As per the NFL schedule, the Giants and the Jets play each other once every four years. In that case, there was a predetermined home team, and a predetermined away team. In those games, the away team gets a rare away game in their own home stadium. The Giants and Jets typically play each other every year in the third week of the NFL Preseason
, and the teams annually rotated the home and away teams.
, whose disappearance coincided with construction of the stadium, had been buried under one of the end zones at the field. This led Sports Illustrated
to suggest that this "takes on special meaning when a punter goes for the 'coffin corner.'" In a similar vein, sportscaster Marv Albert
once said that a team was "kicking towards the Hoffa end of the field." This was tested by the Discovery Channel
show Mythbusters
, and they were unable to find any sign of a body.
Multi-purpose stadium
Multi-purpose stadiums are a type of stadium designed in such a way as to be easily used by multiple sports. While any stadium could potentially host more than one sport, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy that stresses multi-functionality over specificity...
, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,913. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....
, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex
Meadowlands Sports Complex
The MetLife Sports Complex is a sports and entertainment facility located in East Rutherford, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, owned and operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority...
. Maximum seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m (756 ft) long, 180.5 m (592 ft) wide and 44 m (144 ft) high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m (178 ft) high to the top of the south tower respectively. The volume of the stadium was 1,830,000 cubic meters (64,500,000 cubic feet). 13,500 tons of structural steel were used in the building process and 29,200 tons of concrete were poured.
It was owned and operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority is an independent authority established by the State of New Jersey in 1971 to oversee the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Originally consisting of Giants Stadium and the Meadowlands Racetrack in 1976, Brendan Byrne Arena was added to the complex in...
(NJSEA).
It primarily served as the home stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
for the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
teams of the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, but was rented for concerts and many other special events.
The stadium was located at State Route 120 and State Route 3 (which is accessed from Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...
via the Lincoln Tunnel
Lincoln Tunnel
The Lincoln Tunnel is a long tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey and the borough of Manhattan in New York City.-History:...
). The New Jersey Turnpike
New Jersey Turnpike
The New Jersey Turnpike is a toll road in New Jersey, maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, the Turnpike is the nation's sixth-busiest toll road and is among one of the most heavily traveled highways in the United...
was also close by.
It was demolished in 2010. It was replaced by MetLife Stadium, located adjacent to the former site of Giants Stadium.
History
Giants Stadium was the first major leagueMajor professional sports leagues of the United States and Canada
The major professional sports leagues, or simply major leagues, in the United States and Canada are the highest professional competitions in team sports...
sporting venue in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
(though the Brooklyn Dodgers had played seven home games at Roosevelt Stadium
Roosevelt Stadium
Roosevelt Stadium was a baseball park at Droyer's Point in Jersey City, New Jersey. It opened in April 1937 and hosted high-minor league baseball, seven major league baseball games, plus championship boxing matches, top-name musical acts, important regional high school football and even soccer...
in Jersey City in 1956 & 1957), and its success, along with that of the Giants in the 1980s was a major impetus behind increased pride and enthusiasm among New Jersey residents.
First year in business
Giants Stadium opened on October 10, 1976, as 76,042 fans witnessed a loss by the Giants to the Dallas CowboysDallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
. College football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
made its debut at Giants Stadium on October 23, 1976, with Rutgers University
Rutgers Scarlet Knights football
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represents Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision play...
defeating Columbia
Columbia Lions
The Columbia University Lions are the collective athletic teams and their members from Columbia University, an Ivy League institution in New York City, United States. The current director of athletics is M...
47–0 and extending their winning streak to 14 games.
The New York Giants played their first home opener in the stadium on September 18 of the 1977 season
1977 NFL season
The 1977 NFL season was the 58th regular season of the National Football League. The Seattle Seahawks were placed in the AFC West while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were slotted in the NFC Central....
(a 20–17 win over the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
).
Other pro football teams that have used Giants Stadium
Other professional football teams that have called Giants Stadium home over the years include the New Jersey GeneralsNew Jersey Generals
The New Jersey Generals were a franchise of the United States Football League established in 1982 to begin play in the spring and summer of 1983. The team played three seasons from 1983-85, winning 31 regular-season games and losing 25 while going 0-2 in postseason competition...
of the USFL; the New York/New Jersey Knights
New York/New Jersey Knights
New York/New Jersey Knights was a franchise in the World League of American Football for the 1991 and 1992 seasons. They played in the North American East division, which they won in the 1991 season. They were coached by Mouse Davis, an architect of the Run & Shoot offense.After 1992 the NFL ...
of the World League of American Football
World League of American Football
The World League of American Football was founded in 1990 with support from the National Football League to play professional American football in North America, Europe and later possibly Asia...
; and the New York/New Jersey Hitmen
New York/New Jersey Hitmen
The New York/New Jersey Hitmen were a short-lived American football team based in Giants Stadium of the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey....
of the XFL
XFL
The XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001. The league was founded by Vince McMahon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WWE...
. The New York Sentinels
New York Sentinels
The New York Sentinels and Hartford Colonials are a currently inactive professional American football team that played in the United Football League in its 2009 and 2010 seasons...
played one game at the stadium in the United Football League inaugural season.
In the second week of the 2005 season
2005 NFL season
The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006...
, the New Orleans Saints
2005 New Orleans Saints season
The 2005 New Orleans Saints season began with the team trying to improve from their 8–8 record from 2004. The Saints played two preseason games in the Louisiana Superdome before being forced to evacuate New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina...
used the stadium for a "home" game against the Giants because of extensive damage to the Louisiana Superdome
Louisiana Superdome
The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, previously known as the Louisiana Superdome and colloquially known as the Superdome, is a sports and exhibition arena located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA...
after Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. One end zone
End zone
In gridiron-based codes of football, the end zone refers to the scoring area on the field. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field...
was painted in Saints colors, Saints banners were hung on the walls around the sidelines, and the Saints wore their home jerseys. The game was rescheduled to a Monday night with a special start time of 7:30 PM EDT
North American Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
, preceding the other scheduled game on Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
. The Giants were normally not visitors at Giants Stadium unless they were playing the Jets (and vice versa).
College football games
The stadium hosted college football games, including the Garden State BowlGarden State Bowl
The Garden State Bowl was an annual post-season college football bowl game played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, from 1978 to 1981...
from 1978–1981; the Kickoff Classic
Kickoff Classic
The Kickoff Classic was a season-opening college football game played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey from 1983 to 2002.-History:...
from 1983 to 2002; the New York Urban League Classic since 1981; a number of Rutgers homes games (including all their home games during the 1993 season
1993 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season saw Florida State crowned national champions, but not without controversy.Under the Bowl Coalition, undefeated Big 8 champ and #2 ranked Nebraska hosted ACC champ and #1 ranked Florida State in the Orange Bowl...
); several Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
–Navy
Navy Midshipmen football
The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I-A college football. They are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school and coached by Ken Niumatalolo since December 2007...
and Notre Dame–Army
Army Black Knights football
The Army Black Knights football program represents the United States Military Academy. Army was recognized as the national champions in 1944, 1945 and 1946....
games; and the Army–Navy Game on three occasions, most recently in 2002
2002 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season ended the season with what most consider an exciting double overtime national championship game. Ohio State and Miami both came into the Fiesta Bowl undefeated. The underdog Buckeyes defeated the Hurricanes 31–24, ending Miami's 34 game winning...
. Syracuse
Syracuse Orange football
The Syracuse Orange football program is a college football team that represents Syracuse University. The team is a member of the Big East Conference, which is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I conference that is part of the Football Bowl Subdivision...
also played two home games at Giants Stadium during the 1979 season
1979 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season saw the Alabama Crimson Tide bring home a national title with a perfect 12-0 season. The title was Alabama's 11th claimed, though the number is disputed. It was their 6th Associated Press awarded title....
, against West Virginia
West Virginia Mountaineers football
The West Virginia Mountaineers football team represents West Virginia University in the NCAA FBS division of college football. Dana Holgorsen is the team's 33rd head coach. He has held the position since he was promoted in June 2011 after the resignation of Bill Stewart. The Mountaineers play their...
and Penn State, while the Carrier Dome
Carrier Dome
The Carrier Dome is a 49,250-seat domed sports stadium located on the campus of Syracuse University in the University Hill neighborhood of Syracuse, New York, USA. It is home to the Syracuse Orange football, basketball, and lacrosse teams. High school football championships are also held in "The...
was under construction. Columbia also played some home games at Giants Stadium in 1983
1983 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the University of Miami winning their first national championship over perennial power Nebraska in the Orange Bowl....
, due to construction at its home stadium. Temple
Temple Owls football
The Temple Owls football team participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference...
, needing a home field due to a schedule conflict with Veterans Stadium
Veterans Stadium
Philadelphia Veterans Stadium was a professional-sports, multi-purpose stadium, located at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex...
in Philadelphia, used Giants Stadium as their home field versus Penn State
Penn State Nittany Lions football
The Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...
in September 1996
1996 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Florida Gators crowned National Champions, but not as unanimously as the Bowl Alliance would have hoped....
. Princeton
Princeton Tigers
The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 31 varsity sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, six in men's lacrosse, three in women's lacrosse, and eight in men's golf...
also played one home game at Giants Stadium (against Yale
Yale Bulldogs football
The Yale Bulldogs football program represents Yale University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision . Yale's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun competing in the sport in 1872...
) during the construction of Princeton's new stadium in 1997
1997 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season, play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-A level, began in late summer 1997 and culminated with the major bowl games in early January 1998. The national championship was...
.
Soccer at Giants Stadium
The New York CosmosNew York Cosmos
The New York Cosmos were an American soccer club based in New York City, New York and its suburbs. The team played home games in three stadiums around New York before moving in 1977 to Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, where it remained for the rest of its history...
of the North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
moved to Giants Stadium for the 1977 season and remained until the league folded in 1985.
Seven games of the 1994 FIFA World Cup
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
soccer tournament were held at Giants Stadium (including the Italy
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
v Bulgaria
Bulgaria national football team
The FIFA Bulgaria national football team is an association football team fielded by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA. The team's home ground is Vasil Levski in Sofia and Luboslav Penev is in charge manager after replacement of Lothar Matthäus...
semi-final), along with several games of the 1999 Women's World Cup
FIFA Women's World Cup 1999
-Teams:16 teams participated in the final tournament. The teams were:-Squads:For a list of all squads that played in the final tournament, see 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup squads.-Match officials:...
. In 2003, the SuperCoppa Italiana
Supercoppa Italiana
The Supercoppa Italiana is a pre-season football competition held the week before the season begins in Italy every year. It is contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season, as a curtain raiser to the new season. It is usually played at the home of the Serie A...
, an annual match pitting the winners of Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
(Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
's top division) and the Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia
The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
(Italian Cup), was held in Giants Stadium instead of in Italy because both clubs involved (Juventus and AC Milan) were touring the United States late in the summer, when the event is normally scheduled. In 2005, the stadium played host to several matches in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, including the final, which saw the USA
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
defeat Panama
Panama national football team
The Panama national football team is the national team of Panama and is controlled by the Panamanian Football Federation. Panama reached the 2006 World Cup CONCACAF Final Round in the qualifiers and finished as runners-up at the final game of the 2005 Gold Cup...
, 3–1 in a penalty shootout
Penalty shootout (football)
A penalty shoot-out, referred to as kicks from the penalty mark in the Laws of the Game, is the FIFA official term for a method used in association football to decide which team progresses to the next stage of a tournament following a tied game...
after the sides played to a scoreless draw. It again held the final 4 years later for the CONCACAF Gold Cup
2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup
The 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the tenth edition of the Gold Cup competition, and the twentieth association football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean . It was contested from 3 July to 26 July 2009 in the United States. This competition was the fourth tournament...
which saw Mexico
Mexico national football team
The Mexican national football team represents Mexico in association football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation , the governing body for football in Mexico. Mexico's home stadium is the Estadio Azteca and their head coach is José Manuel de la Torre...
defeat the USA
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
5-0. It has seen many European soccer tours in recent years, hosting games involving such major soccer clubs as Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
, Rangers F.C.
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
, Celtic F.C, Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
, F.C Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, and many others.
It also hosted England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
's 3-2 victory over Colombia
Colombia national football team
The Colombian national football team represents Colombia in international football competitions and is controlled by the Colombian Football Federation. It is a member of the CONMEBOL...
on May 31, 2005. That match saw Peter Crouch
Peter Crouch
Peter James Crouch is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Stoke City and the England national team.Crouch started his career as a trainee with Tottenham Hotspur...
and Robert Green
Robert Green
Robert Paul Green is an English footballer who plays for West Ham United and the England national football team as a goalkeeper.-Norwich City:...
make their England debut.
The New York Red Bulls (formerly the New York/New Jersey MetroStars) of Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
played at the stadium for their first fourteen seasons. They moved to the soccer-specific Red Bull Arena in nearby Harrison, New Jersey
Harrison, New Jersey
Harrison is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 13,620. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark, New Jersey.-Geography:Harrison is located at ....
in 2010.
1994 FIFA World Cup matches
| Date | Time (EDT Eastern Time Zone The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time... ) |
Team #1 | Res. | Team #2 | Round | Spectators |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994-06-18 | 16.00 | 0–1 | Group E | 75,338 | ||
| 1994-06-23 | 16.00 | 1–0 | Group E | 74,624 | ||
| 1994-06-25 | 12.30 | 2–1 | Group F | 76,322 | ||
| 1994-06-28 | 12.30 | 0–0 | Group E | 72,404 | ||
| 1994-07-05 | 16.30 | 1–1 (1–3 on pen.) | Round of 16 | 71,030 | ||
| 1994-07-10 | 12.00 | 2–1 | Quarterfinals | 72,000 | ||
| 1994-07-13 | 16.00 | 1–2 | Semifinals | 74,110 |
Pope John Paul II at Giants Stadium
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
celebrated Mass during a rainstorm on October 5, 1995. The record was broken on September 24, 2009 with an attendance of 84,472 at the U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
concert.
Concerts
The stadium played host to Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
's final A Conspiracy of Hope Benefit Concert on June 15, 1986. The show was a sold-out, all-day event, running from noon until 11 p.m. and broadcast on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. The show was headlined by U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
and Sting and also featured Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
, Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
, The Neville Brothers
The Neville Brothers
The Neville Brothers, an American R&B and soul group, was formed in 1977 in New Orleans, Louisiana.-History:The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art , Charles , Aaron , and Cyril The Neville Brothers, an American R&B and soul group, was formed in 1977 in...
and The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
. Additional artists that performed include John Eddie
John Eddie
John Eddie is an American folk rock singer. Eddie moved to New Jersey in the 1970s and became a popular club circuit musician there, occasionally performing with Bruce Springsteen. Eddie signed with Columbia Records and released two albums, in 1986 and 1990. The 1986 single, "Jungle Boy" peaked on...
, with Max Weinberg
Max Weinberg
Max Weinberg is an American drummer and television personality, most widely known as the longtime drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and as the bandleader for Conan O'Brien on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.Weinberg grew up in suburban New Jersey...
, Third World
Third World (band)
Third World is a Jamaican reggae band formed in 1973. Their sound is influenced by soul, funk and disco.-History:Third World started when keyboard player Michael "Ibo" Cooper and guitarist Stephen "Cat" Coore, who had originally played in The Alley Cats then Inner Circle, subsequently left to form...
, The Hooters
The Hooters
The Hooters is an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. By combining a mix of rock and roll, reggae, ska and folk music, The Hooters first gained major commercial success in the United States in the mid 1980s due to heavy radio and MTV airplay of several songs including "All You...
, Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary were an American folk-singing trio whose nearly 50-year career began with their rise to become a paradigm for 1960s folk music. The trio was composed of Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers...
, Steven van Zandt
Steven Van Zandt
Steven Van Zandt is an Italian-American musician, songwriter, arranger, record producer, actor, and radio disc jockey, who frequently goes by the stage names Little Steven or Miami Steve...
, with Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
, Stanley Jordan
Stanley Jordan
Stanley Jordan is an American jazz/jazz fusion guitarist and pianist, best known for his development of the tapping technique for the guitar....
, Joan Armatrading
Joan Armatrading
Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading, MBE is a British singer, songwriter and guitarist. Armatrading is a three-time Grammy Award-nominee and has been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist...
, Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
, Rubén Blades
Rubén Blades
Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna is a Panamanian salsa singer, songwriter, lawyer, actor, Latin jazz musician, and politician, performing musically most often in the Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz genres...
, with Fela Kuti
Fela Kuti
Fela Anikulapo Kuti , or simply Fela , was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick.-Biography:...
and Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
, Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
, Howard Jones
Howard Jones (musician)
Howard Jones is a musician, singer and songwriter. According to the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums, "Jones is an accomplished singer-songwriter who was a regular chart visitor in the mid 1980s with his brand of synthpop. Jones, who was equally popular in the U.S., appeared at Live...
, Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
and Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
. Spoken introductions were made by Billy Graham
Billy Graham
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
, Bill Bradley
Bill Bradley
William Warren "Bill" Bradley is an American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, and former three-term Democratic U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in the 2000 election.Bradley was born and raised in a suburb of St....
, Darryl Hannah, Robert DeNiro, Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve
Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author and activist...
, Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...
and Muhammed Ali. Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
was scheduled to perform, but cancelled at the last minute, when his father, Cliff Townshend, became gravely ill, which would have been his first US solo appearance. This also marked The Police's final full-live performance together, until their 2007 Reunion Tour
The Police Reunion Tour
The Police Reunion Tour was a 2007–2008 worldwide concert tour by The Police, marking the 30th anniversary of their beginnings. At its conclusion, the tour became the third highest grossing tour of all time, with revenues reaching over $340 million...
, 21 years later.
The stadium played host to The Tattoo the Earth
Tattoo the Earth
Tattoo the Earth was a concert tour from 2000 to 2002 in the United States. The tour, with part of it taking place during the summer, posed a challenge to Slipknot in particular. The band performed onstage in masks, and even under the best circumstances, they found them uncomfortable. The band's...
Tour on July 20, 2000. The show featured performances by Slipknot
Slipknot (band)
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...
, Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
, Sevendust
Sevendust
Sevendust is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia. Formed in 1994 by bassist Vince Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and guitarist John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and guitarist Clint Lowery joined the group...
, Sepultura
Sepultura
Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte, formed in 1984. The band was a major force in the death metal, thrash metal and ultimately groove metal realms during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments melding nu metal, hardcore punk and industrial.Sepultura...
, Hed PE, Mudvayne
Mudvayne
Mudvayne is an American heavy metal band. Their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate visual appearance, which has included face and body paint, masks and uniforms...
, downset.
Downset.
downset. was a rapcore group hailing from Los Angeles, California.-Band history:The band's original moniker was Social Justice. They released their debut album, Unity Is Strength, in 1989 and the EP I Refuse To Lose under this name with a different lineup in 1992...
, Hatebreed
Hatebreed
- History :Hatebreed was formed in 1994 in Bridgeport, Waterbury and New Haven. They began by recording a three song demo and selling it to locals. Those three songs would eventually be released on a split seven inch with New York's Neglect in 1995...
, Full Devil Jacket
Full Devil Jacket
Full Devil Jacket was an American nu metal band that started as the Voodoo Hippies when Josh Brown, Mike Reaves, Kevin Bebout, and Keith Foster all met at Josh Brown’s brother’s tattoo shop in Jackson, Tennessee. Jonathan Montoya was the last addition to the band as the second guitarist.Before...
, Famous, Amen
Amen (band)
Amen is a hardcore punk-influenced band formed in 1994.The band has an almost constantly rotating lineup, with founder Casey Chaos remaining as the only constant member throughout...
, U.P.O.
U.P.O.
U.P.O. was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1997. Since 2004, the band's line-up has included Shawn Albro , Chris Weber , Ben Shirley and Tommy Holt . Previous members include Zoltan Bathory and Philippe Mathys.To date, U.P.O...
, Nothingface
Nothingface
Nothingface was a four-piece metal band from Washington, D.C. noted for having graphic lyrics and occasionally using political themes in their later works, as well as polyrhythmic songs.-First Run:...
, PPM, Cold
Cold (band)
Cold is an American post-grunge band, formed in 1996 in Jacksonville, Florida. With two gold-albums Cold has sold over 1.2 million records in the US alone. On November 17, 2006, Ward announced on MySpace that, after a period of uncertainty since that February, the group had decided to disband. In...
, Relative Ash, Systematic, Six Feet Under
Six Feet Under (band)
Six Feet Under is an American death metal band from Tampa, Florida, formed in 1993. The band was originally a side project by Cannibal Corpse vocalist Chris Barnes with guitarist Allen West of Obituary...
, Candiria
Candiria
Candiria are an American band from Brooklyn, New York. They blend various styles of music, including heavy metal, hardcore, jazz, hip hop and ambient. Candiria have often dubbed their sound "urban fusion".- History :...
, Lamb of God
Lamb of God (band)
Lamb of God is an American heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 1994, the group consists of vocalist Randy Blythe, guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, bassist John Campbell, and drummer Chris Adler...
, God Forbid
God Forbid
God Forbid is an American heavy metal band formed in 1996 in East Brunswick, New Jersey.-Biography:Building up a following in the late 1990s by touring with bands such as GWAR, Nile, Cradle of Filth and Candiria, God Forbid's first full album Reject the Sickness was released by 9 Volt Records in 1999...
, Darkest Hour, Unearth
Unearth
Unearth is an American metalcore band from Winthrop, Massachusetts. Formed in 1998, the group has released five studio albums. Their fourth record, The March was released on October 14, 2008 meeting with high positive reception by many...
, All That Remains
All That Remains (band)
All That Remains is an American heavy metal band from Springfield, Massachusetts, which formed in 1998. They have released five studio albums, a live CD/DVD, and have sold nearly 800,000 records...
, Dropkick Murphys
Dropkick Murphys
Dropkick Murphys are an Irish-American punk rock band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. The band was initially signed to independent punk record label Hellcat Records, releasing five albums for the label, and making a name for themselves locally through constant playing and yearly St....
, Sick of It All
Sick of It All
Sick of It All is an American hardcore punk band from Queens, New York. Formed in 1986, the band consisted of brothers Lou Koller on vocals and Pete Koller on lead guitar, Rich Cipriano on bass, and Armand Majidi on drums. There have been only two member changes since their inception, with Max...
, Tiger Army
Tiger Army
Tiger Army is an American psychobilly band that was formed in 1995 in Berkeley, California. Its constant member and lead song writer is Nick 13. The band have released a total of four studio albums.-History:...
, Converge
Converge (band)
Converge is an American band from Salem, Massachusetts. Playing a blend of hardcore punk and metal since 1990, Converge has helped to define many of the elements of the metalcore genre.-Description:...
, The Unseen, Reach the Sky
Reach the Sky
-History:Reach the Sky formed in 1997, and they released two EPs in 1999; their debut full-length, So Far From Home, followed on Victory Records later that same year....
, Stretch Arm Strong
Stretch Arm Strong
Stretch Arm Strong is a hardcore punk band from Chapin South Carolina, and the flagship band for We Put Out Records. They have been active since 1992. Several of the band members are outspoken Christians, but they prefer not to be classified as a Christian band in some cases. They do prefer to be...
, Kill Your Idols
Kill Your Idols
Kill Your Idols was a hardcore punk band from Long Island/New York City, New York. The band was active from 1995 through 2007. They were signed to SideOneDummy Records....
and Nashville Pussy
Nashville Pussy
Nashville Pussy is an American hard rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. Their musical style mixes boogie rock, Southern metal and psychobilly. Much of the band's lyrical themes mostly revolve around sex, drugs, drinking, fighting, and rock 'n' roll...
, including the only appearance by Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
during the tour and also featured 42 tattoo artists from Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Malaysia, Manitoba, Spain, Switzerland and the US.
The stadium has also played host to music festivals, including The Monsters of Rock Festival
Monsters of Rock Tour 1988
The Monsters of Rock Tour 1988 was a festival tour of the USA in 1988, headlined by hard rock band Van Halen as part of their promotion for their OU812 album with heavy metal band Metallica as well as other bands including Scorpions, Dokken, and Kingdom Come. It formed the first section of the...
, Ozzfest
Ozzfest
Ozzfest is an annual festival tour of the United States featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon Osbourne, both of whom also organize each yearly tour with their son Jack Osbourne...
and The Bamboozle
The Bamboozle
The Bamboozle is an annual rain-or-shine, three-day music festival held in New Jersey. Every year, new bands compete for spots during the two days. The event evolved out of the Skate and Surf Festival.- The Characters:...
(in the parking lot, annually, since 2003).
Many locals say it is the home turf of Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
& The E Street Band
E Street Band
The E Street Band has been rock musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Tom Morello, Sting, Ian...
, due to the fact that they came from Freehold, New Jersey
Freehold, New Jersey
Freehold, New Jersey may refer to:* Freehold Borough, New Jersey, the county seat of Monmouth County* Freehold Township, New Jersey, the much larger township that surrounds the borough...
.
Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
and Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
brought the Guns N' Roses/Metallica Stadium Tour
Guns N' Roses/Metallica Stadium Tour
The Guns N' Roses/Metallica Stadium Tour was a famed joint, co-headlining concert tour by the American rock bands Guns N' Roses and Metallica during 1992...
to the stadium twice on July 18, 1992 and July 29, 1992, with Faith No More
Faith No More
Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed originally as Faith No Man in 1981 by bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist Wade Worthington, vocalist Michael Morris and drummer Mike Bordin. A year later when Worthington was replaced by keyboardist Roddy Bottum, and Mike...
as their opening act on both dates.
Seating Capacity
The seating capacity over the years went as the following:- 76,891 (1976-1993)
- 77,121 (1994)
- 78,148 (1995-1998)
- 79,469 (1999-2001)
- 80,242 (2002-2010)
Demolition
Demolition work on Giants Stadium began at approximately 10:00 AM EST on February 4, 2010 at the Gate B spirals, the closest point to the new stadium. The demolition work was expected to cost more than $10 million and took approximately four months to complete. As of May 10, 2010 approximately 50% of the Stadium has been demolished. On May 19, 2010 at 8:30pm, demolition crews pulled down the press box, the highest part of the stadium. In the early afternoon of June 28, 2010, the last section of stadium grandstand came down, leaving just two later demolished upper level escalators standing. Much of the stadium's memorabilia was sold to a sports memorabilia company, such as the framed pictures from the suites, all of the building's signage and a good portion of the saved bowl seats. Other property was liquidated to other NJSEA facilities such as the IZOD Center and Monmouth Park Racetrack.Changes and co-tenants
AstroTurf
AstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Although the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf. The original AstroTurf product was a short pile synthetic turf while the current products incorporate modern features such as...
playing surface. This surface was covered by Bermuda grass sod
Sod
Sod or turf is grass and the part of the soil beneath it held together by the roots, or a piece of thin material.The term sod may be used to mean turf grown and cut specifically for the establishment of lawns...
for the World Cup in 1994, identical to that at the Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl (stadium)
The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...
where the other semifinal and the finals were held (so that both teams in the finals would have played on identical surfaces). The grass was removed after the World Cup, as it would have died in the New Jersey winter. The MetroStars installed a grass field with interchangeable trays each spring that was removed prior to football season, forcing the team to play the remainder of its season on the AstroTurf field used by the football teams. (It should be noted that when the New York Cosmos
New York Cosmos
The New York Cosmos were an American soccer club based in New York City, New York and its suburbs. The team played home games in three stadiums around New York before moving in 1977 to Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, where it remained for the rest of its history...
called Giants Stadium home, they played on the stadium's artificial surface and never used a grass field.)
The AstroTurf was replaced in 2000 by a system of interchangeable grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
trays similar to those put in place for soccer, but was kept in place under the trays to aid in draining the field when it got wet. Over the three seasons Giants Stadium used a grass surface, the conditions would worsen as the season went on and the field quality was typically rated just as low as the old, hard AstroTurf had been. Giants Stadium finally scrapped the grass in favor of FieldTurf
FieldTurf
FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by the FieldTurf Tarkett division of Tarkett Inc., based in Calhoun, Georgia, USA. In the late 1990s, the artificial surface changed the industry with a design intended to replicate real grass...
for the 2003 season, and the surface remained in place until the stadium closed.
When the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
left Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
and moved to Giants Stadium in 1984, many predicted the stadium would be renamed. Understandably, the Jets organization preferred not to reside in a facility named after another team. However, under the terms of the stadium lease, changing the name of the stadium required the approval of the Giants and they were unwilling to do so. As such, for years afterward the Jets referred to Giants Stadium as "The Meadowlands" whenever they played there. Eventually the Jets began referring to the stadium by its name.
Thanks largely to the dual occupancy of Giants Stadium by two NFL teams since 1984, it surpassed Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
(home of the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
for fifty seasons) as the venue to have hosted more NFL games than any other in league history. The game played between the Jets
2003 New York Jets season
The 2003 New York Jets season was the 44th season for the team, and the 34th in the National Football League. The team tried to improve upon its 9–7 record from 2002 and defend its AFC East title. The Jets finished the season with a record of 6–10....
and Miami Dolphins
2003 Miami Dolphins season
The 2003 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 38th as a member of the National Football League. The Dolphins improved upon their previous season's output of 9–7, instead winning 10 games. This marked the second consecutive winning season for the team, however, they failed to clinch a playoff berth...
on September 14, 2003 was the 366th regular season NFL game at Giants Stadium breaking Wrigley's regular season record.
Since the stadium was originally built for the Giants, the stadium's lower walls were blue and the seats and the stadium's four gates were red and blue to reflect that. When the Jets moved in, green banners were hung over the walls and eventually over the outer gates of the stadium anytime the team hosted a game.
In mid-December, traditionally the stadium hosted a Saturday-Sunday NFL doubleheader, with the Giants playing a home game one day and the Jets playing the other. The night between the games was a challenge for the stadium grounds crew, as they only had hours to convert the stadium from one team's colors to the other. As per the NFL schedule, the Giants and the Jets play each other once every four years. In that case, there was a predetermined home team, and a predetermined away team. In those games, the away team gets a rare away game in their own home stadium. The Giants and Jets typically play each other every year in the third week of the NFL Preseason
National Football League exhibition season
The National Football League preseason refers to the period each year during which NFL teams play several not-for-the-record exhibition games before the actual "championship" or "regular" season starts. Beginning with the featured Pro Football Hall of Fame game in early August, five weekends of...
, and the teams annually rotated the home and away teams.
The Jimmy Hoffa urban legend
For some years, a popular urban legend purported that the remains of Jimmy HoffaJimmy Hoffa
James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa was an American labor union leader....
, whose disappearance coincided with construction of the stadium, had been buried under one of the end zones at the field. This led Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
to suggest that this "takes on special meaning when a punter goes for the 'coffin corner.'" In a similar vein, sportscaster Marv Albert
Marv Albert
Marv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called...
once said that a team was "kicking towards the Hoffa end of the field." This was tested by the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
show Mythbusters
MythBusters
MythBusters is a science entertainment TV program created and produced by Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The series is screened by numerous international broadcasters, including Discovery Channel Australia, Discovery Channel Latin America, Discovery Channel Canada, Quest...
, and they were unable to find any sign of a body.
Notable moments
- October 10, 1976: The Giants played their first regular season game ever played at Giants Stadium, a 24–14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in front of 76,042 in attendance.
- October 1, 1977: SoccerFootball (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
legend PeléPeléHowever, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
played his last game, an exhibition match between the Cosmos and SantosSantos Futebol ClubeSantos Futebol Clube is a Brazilian professional football club based in Santos, São Paulo They play in the Campeonato Paulista and the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the highest professional leagues in São Paulo state and Brazil, respectively....
. He played the first half for the Cosmos and the second half for his old BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian team. - October 28, 1978: RutgersRutgers Scarlet Knights footballThe Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represents Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision play...
beats ColumbiaColumbia LionsThe Columbia University Lions are the collective athletic teams and their members from Columbia University, an Ivy League institution in New York City, United States. The current director of athletics is M...
69–0. The Lions' humiliating defeat was the last game in one of the oldest rivalries in college footballCollege footballCollege football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
. Columbia's young coach Bill Campbell retired from coaching after the game and went on to a vastly more successful career in Silicon ValleySilicon ValleySilicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
. - November 19, 1978: Giants quarterback Joe PisarcikJoe PisarcikJoseph Anthony Pisarcik is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for eight seasons, from 1977 through 1984 after playing college football at New Mexico State University. His first professional team was the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football...
fumbles the handoff to Larry CsonkaLarry CsonkaLarry Richard Csonka is a former collegiate and professional American football fullback.-Childhood:One of six children, Csonka was born in Stow, Ohio where he was raised on a farm by his Hungarian family...
with just seconds remaining in the game, allowing Herman EdwardsHerman EdwardsHerman "Herm" Edwards, Jr. is an American football analyst who most recently coached in the National Football League for the Kansas City Chiefs. He was fired from this position on January 23, 2009. Since then, he has been hired as a football analyst for ESPN...
(later a Jets head coach) to scoop it up and run it back for a touchdown, giving the Philadelphia Eagles an improbable 19–17 win. This play would be known as "The Miracle at the MeadowlandsThe Miracle at the MeadowlandsThe Miracle at the Meadowlands is the term used by sportscasters and Philadelphia Eagles fans for a fumble recovery by cornerback Herman Edwards that he returned for a touchdown at the end of a November 19, 1978 NFL game against the New York Giants in Giants Stadium...
," and helped lead to the hiring of Ray Perkins as head coach, and later George Young as general manager. For many years afterwords, Giants' fans called the quarterback Joe PISS-arcik (emphasis on the "PISS"). The play also led to the drafting of Phil SimmsPhil SimmsPhillip Martin "Phil" Simms is a former American football quarterback, and currently a television sportscaster for the CBS network. After a standout career at Morehead State University, Simms was drafted in the first round by the New York Giants of the National Football League with the number...
(a choice that caused many Giant fans to scoff) in 1979. - September 6, 1984: The New York Jets move into Giants Stadium, losing their first game to the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 23–17.
- July 1984: The Jacksons perform three sold out shows of their Victory Tour.
- July 14, 1985: The Baltimore StarsBaltimore StarsThe Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars were a professional American football team which played in the United States Football League in the mid-1980s. They were owned by real estate magnate Myles Tanenbaum. They were the league's dominant team, playing in all three championship games and winning two of...
defeat the Oakland InvadersOakland InvadersOakland Invaders was a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League from 1983 through 1985.-In reaction to the Raiders relocating to Los Angeles:...
, 28–24, in the 1985 USFL Championship Game, the final game in league history. - August–September 1985: Bruce SpringsteenBruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
and The E Street BandE Street BandThe E Street Band has been rock musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Tom Morello, Sting, Ian...
perform six sold out shows on the final leg of their Born in the U.S.A. TourBorn in the U.S.A. TourThe Born in the U.S.A. Tour was the supporting concert tour of Bruce Springsteen's massively popular Born in the U.S.A. album. It was his longest and most successful tour to date. It featured a physically transformed Springsteen. After two years of bodybuilding, Springsteen had bulked up...
. - December 28, 1985: The first NFL playoff game at The Meadowlands, and AFC Wild-Card game between the New York JetsNew York JetsThe New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
& New England PatriotsNew England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
won by the Patriots 26–14. - December 29, 1985: The New York GiantsNew York GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
first home playoff game at Giants Stadium, a 17–3 victory over the San Francisco 49ersSan Francisco 49ersThe San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
. - January 11, 1987: The New York Giants1986 New York Giants seasonThe 1986 New York Giants season was one of the most successful seasons in the professional American football franchise's history. The Giants, who play in the National Football Conference of the National Football League , won their fifth championship—and first Super Bowl—in franchise history during...
shut out the Washington Redskins1986 Washington Redskins seasonThe 1986 Washington Redskins began with the team trying to improve on their 10-6 record from 1985.-Schedule:-Standings:-NFC Wild Card Game:-NFC Divisional Playoff:-NFC Championship Game:-References:...
17–0 in the NFC Championship game to advance to Super Bowl XXISuper Bowl XXISuper Bowl XXI was an American football game played on January 25, 1987 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1986 regular season. The National Football Conference champion New York Giants won their first Super Bowl by defeating...
in Pasadena. Two weeks later, the Giants would win Super Bowl XXISuper Bowl XXISuper Bowl XXI was an American football game played on January 25, 1987 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1986 regular season. The National Football Conference champion New York Giants won their first Super Bowl by defeating...
, their first Super Bowl victory. - November 8, 1987: The New York GiantsNew York GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
defeated the New England PatriotsNew England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
17–10 in ESPN's first televised regular season game. - June 30, 1989: The WhoThe WhoThe Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
sell out four consecutive shows performing portions of the rock opera TommyTommy (film)Tommy is a 1975 British musical film based upon The Who's 1969 rock opera album musical Tommy. It was directed by Ken Russell and featured a star-studded cast, including the band members themselves...
to open the first of two sets each night. - June–July 1994: Giants Stadium serves as a venue for the 1994 FIFA World Cup1994 FIFA World CupThe 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
, opening with IrelandRepublic of Ireland national football teamThe Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
's 1–0 win over ItalyItaly national football teamThe Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
, and concluding with Italy's 2–1 win over BulgariaBulgaria national football teamThe FIFA Bulgaria national football team is an association football team fielded by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA. The team's home ground is Vasil Levski in Sofia and Luboslav Penev is in charge manager after replacement of Lothar Matthäus...
in the semifinals. - July 18,1994: Pink FloydPink FloydPink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
performed their final US show ever on their Division Bell Tour in which they performed The Dark Side of the MoonThe Dark Side of the MoonThe Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
in its entirety.. - October 19, 1997: Following the Jets1997 New York Jets seasonThe 1997 New York Jets season began with the team trying to improve upon its league-worst and franchise-worst 1–15 record from 1996. Sparked by the arrival of head coach Bill Parcells, who replaced Rich Kotite, and was coming off a Super Bowl berth the previous season, the Jets improved to 9–7, but...
defeating the Patriots1997 New England Patriots seasonThe 1997 New England Patriots season was the 28th season for the team in the National Football League and 38th season overall. They finished the season with a 10–6 record and a division title but lost in the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Steelers....
, two individuals are violently accosted and stabbed by an underage and drunken Patriots fan. The incident would lead to various lawsuits and the establishment of higher security standards and no alcohol being served after the 3rd quarter at Giants Stadium. - December 13, 1998: The New York Giants1998 New York Giants seasonThe 1998 New York Giants season was the team's 74th season in the National Football League. The team failed to improve upon their previous season's output of 10–5–1, winning only eight games and missing the playoffs...
defeated the then-13–0 Denver Broncos1998 Denver Broncos seasonIn 1998 the Denver Broncos had a record of 14–2, second best in the NFL, and won Super Bowl XXXIII. It was John Elway's final season and the season Terrell Davis ran for 2,008 yards, making him only the fourth player to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single season....
20–16 in front of 72,336 in attendance. - October 23, 2000: In what has been called the greatest game on Monday Night FootballMonday Night FootballMonday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
, the New York Jets come back from a 30–7 deficit by scoring 30 points in the fourth quarter and another 3 in overtime to beat the Miami Dolphins 40–37. The game is known as the Monday Night MiracleThe Monday Night Miracle (American football)In the National Football League, "The Monday Night Miracle" refers to a Monday night game between the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins played at Giants Stadium on October 23, 2000.-Background:...
. - January 14, 2001: On a field of painted mud, the New York Giants defeat the Minnesota Vikings 41–0 in the NFC Championship Game in front of 79,310 in attendance to send the Giants to Super Bowl XXXVSuper Bowl XXXVSuper Bowl XXXV was played on January 28, 2001 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 2000 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Baltimore Ravens defeated the National Football Conference champion New York...
in Tampa. - July–August 2003: Bruce SpringsteenBruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
and the E Street BandE Street BandThe E Street Band has been rock musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Tom Morello, Sting, Ian...
break their own record with 10 sold-out shows on the Rising tour. - December 20, 2003: The New England PatriotsNew England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
defeated the New York JetsNew York JetsThe New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
21-16 in ESPN's 200th NFL regular season game. - September 1, 2005: The punk rock band Green DayGreen DayGreen Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
sold out Giants Stadium with Against Me!Against Me!Against Me! is an American punk rock band formed in 1997 in Naples, Florida and relocated to Gainesville, Florida in 1999. Their first full-length album, released on No Idea Records in 2002, was Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose. They have released music on Misanthrope Records, Crasshole Records,...
and Jimmy Eat WorldJimmy Eat WorldJimmy Eat World is an American alternative rock band from Mesa, Arizona, that formed in 1993. The band is composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Jim Adkins, guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch and drummer Zach Lind....
. It was their biggest concert played in North America. - December 26, 2005: The New York Jets & The New England Patriots fight each other in a classic battle on the last Monday Night Football game on ABC. The Patriots defeat the Jets 31–21.
- January 8, 2006: The largest crowd to witness a Giant game, 79,378, witness a Giants 23–0 playoff loss to the Carolina Panthers.
- July 29, 2006: Bon JoviBon JoviBon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
Plays their 8th consecutive sell-out of Giants Stadium. This was also the last concert of their Have a Nice Day TourHave a Nice Day TourThe Have a Nice Day Tour was a worldwide concert tour by American rock band Bon Jovi. It took place between November 2005 and July 2006 and commenced two months after the release of their ninth studio album Have a Nice Day....
. - July 7, 2007: The "New York" portion of Live EarthLive Earth-Background:Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action...
, a worldwide series of concerts of pop and rock music featuring various bands and musical artists planned to inspire global warming activism, was held at Giants Stadium. KennaKennaKenna Zemedkun, known professionally as simply Kenna, is an Ethiopian-born American musician. His track "Say Goodbye To Love" was nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in the 2009 Grammy Awards.-Personal life:...
, KT TunstallKT TunstallKate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist from St Andrews, Scotland. She broke into the public eye with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland...
, Taking Back SundayTaking Back SundayTaking Back Sunday is a rock band from Long Island, NY, formed in 1999 by guitarist Eddie Reyes. Current members of the band are Adam Lazzara , John Nolan , Eddie Reyes , Shaun Cooper and Mark O'Connell ....
, Keith UrbanKeith UrbanKeith Lionel Urban is a New Zealand-born Australian, country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States and Australia. Urban was born in New Zealand and began his career in Australia at an early age...
, LudacrisLudacrisChristopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...
, AFIAFI (band)AFI is an American alternative rock band from Ukiah, California that formed in 1991. They have consisted of the same lineup since 1998: lead vocalist Davey Havok, drummer and backup vocalist Adam Carson, with bassist Hunter Burgan and guitarist Jade Puget, who both play keyboard and contribute...
, Fall Out BoyFall Out BoyFall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...
, AkonAkonAliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...
, John MayerJohn MayerJohn Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
, Melissa EtheridgeMelissa EtheridgeMelissa Lou Etheridge is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician.Etheridge is known for her mixture of confessional lyrics, pop-based folk-rock, and raspy, smoky vocals...
, Alicia KeysAlicia KeysAlicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
, Dave Matthews BandDave Matthews BandDave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...
, Kelly ClarksonKelly ClarksonKelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.In 2003,...
, Kanye WestKanye WestKanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
, The Smashing PumpkinsThe Smashing PumpkinsThe Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan frontman and James Iha , the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin , D'arcy Wretzky , and currently includes Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne , and Nicole Fiorentino The Smashing...
, Roger WatersRoger WatersGeorge Roger Waters is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. He was a founding member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist, principal songwriter...
, Bon JoviBon JoviBon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
and The PoliceThe PoliceThe Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
all performed. - August 18, 2007: 66,237 attended as the largest crowd ever for a regular-season MLSMajor League SoccerMajor League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
match at Giants Stadium (or any match between two MLS teams here). The MetroStars/Red Bulls previously had several matches with 50,000–65,000, and this day's match was also their highest attendance home or away for a regular-season match. This LA GalaxyLos Angeles GalaxyThe Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second...
versus Red Bulls match also set a new high for an MLS match that was not a part of a double-header, even beating the highest MLS Cup Final attendance (in 2002: 61,316). - September 9, 2007: New England PatriotsNew England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
CB Ellis Hobbs set an NFL record by taking the second-half kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown against the New York Jets in a 38–14 opening day victory. The play also tied the record for the longest play in NFL history at the time, matching the 108-yard missed field goal returns by the Chicago BearsChicago BearsThe Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
' Devin HesterDevin HesterDevin Hester is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League . He played college football at the University of Miami, where he became the first person in the university’s recent history to play in all three phases of American football...
against the Giants in 2006, and the Bears' Nathan VasherNathan VasherNathaniel DeWayne Vasher is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft...
the previous season against San Francisco. That record was broken 8 weeks later when San Diego ChargersSan Diego ChargersThe San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
CB Antonio Cromartie returned a missed field-goal 109 yards for a touchdown against the Minnesota VikingsMinnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
. - December 29, 2007: The New England Patriots closed out their undefeated 16–0 regular season at Giants Stadium with a 38–35 win over the New York GiantsNew York GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in front of a record regular season crowd on 79,110. In the fourth quarter, Patriots QB Tom BradyTom BradyThomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . After playing college football at Michigan, Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.He has played in four Super Bowls,...
broke Peyton ManningPeyton ManningPeyton Williams Manning is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League . Manning holds the record for most NFL MVP awards with four. He was drafted by the Colts as the first overall pick in 1998 after a standout college football career with the...
's NFL record of 49 TD passes set in 2004, with his NFL record 50th TD pass, a 65-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Randy MossRandy MossRandy Gene Moss is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft...
, who on the same play set the record for most touchdown receptions in a single season with 23, breaking the record held previously by Jerry RiceJerry RiceJerry Lee Rice is a retired American football wide receiver. He is generally regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in National Football League history...
with 22 touchdown receptions set in 1987. - June 8, 2008: The USAUnited States men's national soccer teamThe United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
played then world #1 Argentina to a scoreless draw in front of a crowd of 78,682. - July 26, 2009: In the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup2009 CONCACAF Gold CupThe 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the tenth edition of the Gold Cup competition, and the twentieth association football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean . It was contested from 3 July to 26 July 2009 in the United States. This competition was the fourth tournament...
Final 79,156 fans witnessed MexicoMexico national football teamThe Mexican national football team represents Mexico in association football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation , the governing body for football in Mexico. Mexico's home stadium is the Estadio Azteca and their head coach is José Manuel de la Torre...
beat the USAUnited States men's national soccer teamThe United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
5–0, Mexico's first win against the USA on American soil in a decade. - September 23–24, 2009: U2U2U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
play two consecutive sold out shows at Giants Stadium, their last two shows of the famous venue, as part of their U2 360 tour. On the second night of the performance, Bono announces that the attendance record has been broken. He also jokes that "not even the pope had as many people there." The final attendance was 84,467. - October 9, 2009: Bruce SpringsteenBruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
and the E Street BandE Street BandThe E Street Band has been rock musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Tom Morello, Sting, Ian...
play in the final concert at Giants Stadium. The concert capped a five-night stand of performances in September and October, highlighting Springsteen's classic albums, Born To RunBorn to RunThe album's release was accompanied by a $250,000 promotional campaign by Columbia directed at both consumers and the music industry, making good use of Landau's "I saw rock 'n' roll's future—and its name is Bruce Springsteen" quote. With much publicity, Born to Run vaulted into the top 10 in its...
, Darkness on the Edge of TownDarkness on the Edge of TownDarkness on the Edge of Town is the fourth album by Bruce Springsteen, released in the late spring of 1978. The album marked the end of a three year period of forced hiatus from recording brought on by contractual obligations and legal battling with former manager Mike Appel...
, and Born In The USA as well as debuting a new song in honor of New Jersey, the Giants, and Giants Stadium entitled, "Wrecking Ball." - October 24, 2009: The final soccer game at Giants Stadium is played between the New York Red Bulls and Toronto FCToronto FCToronto FC is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada....
, with New York winning 5–0. - December 27, 2009: The Giants play their final home game in the stadium against the Carolina PanthersCarolina PanthersThe Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
, losing by a score of 41–9. - January 3, 2010: The Jets defeated the Cincinnati BengalsCincinnati BengalsThe Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
37–0 in the final game at Giants Stadium. The victory would also earn the Jets a playoff berth.