MetLife Stadium

• 1. Introduction

  ›

  At approximately $1.6 billion, MetLife Stadium was the most expensive stadium built in the United States at the time of its completion. It opened in 2010 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, 5 miles west of New York City. Two NFL rivals, the New York Giants and the New York Jets, would share it as equal partners, each holding a 50 percent stake. How the architects solved that design challenge became one of the more inventive building stories in recent sports history. And before the stadium even had a name, choosing one would draw in a wartime corporation, a prominent rabbi, and the largest Jewish community outside of Israel.

• 2. Neutral Ground

  ›

  The Giants wanted exposed steel framework and rusticated stone for the new building, a traditional aesthetic. The Jets wanted metal and glass, a sleek and modern look. Designers resolved that tension by turning to Manhattan itself. The column-and-tower dynamic visible in the city's skyscrapers gave the building its organizing logic.

  The base of the stadium's facade is clad in limestone-like stonework. Above it, an outer skin of aluminum louvers and glass wraps the structure. Interior lighting switches color depending on which team is playing: blue for the Giants, green for the Jets. That color-shifting idea came from the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, where Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich had previously shared a home. The louvers' combined linear length runs to exactly 50,000 meters, or 31.1 miles.

  Front-row seats on the 50-yard line sit just 46 feet from the sideline, the closest of any NFL stadium. Changing the field configuration between teams takes two 4-person crews roughly 18 hours, using forklifts to remove and replace 40 sections of artificial turf. In 2023, the Giants and Jets each announced they would paint their own logos at midfield during home games. The paint is water-soluble and can be quickly dissolved for removal.

  The seating bowl holds 82,500 people, including 10,005 club seats and approximately 218 luxury suites. The structure contains four locker rooms: one for each home team on opposite ends of the building, plus two for visiting sides. MetLife has no roof. Proposals for one failed over a funding dispute. That absence rules out indoor events like the NCAA Final Four, which was among the original ambitions for the project.

  In 2025, the four corner video boards were upgraded with 8-millimeter high-resolution LED displays. A new stadium-wide audio system featuring over 1,000 speakers was installed in the seating bowl at the same time.

• 3. The Name Dispute

  ›

  Allianz, a Munich-based financial services and insurance company, was among the first to express interest in naming rights for the new stadium. The proposal would have covered up to 30 years and was estimated to be worth between $20 million and $30 million.

  The Anti-Defamation League protested, citing Allianz's documented ties to the government of Nazi Germany during World War II. New York's Jewish community joined the opposition. Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum, secretary general of the North American Board of Rabbis, offered a more measured perspective. He acknowledged the sensibilities of survivors. He also stated that he had found Allianz "to be receptive, to be sensitive and a friend of the Jewish people today." Talks ended without an agreement on the 12th of September, 2008.

  On the 27th of June, 2011, it was reported that MetLife, a New York City-based insurance company, had entered discussions with the stadium's owners. All parties signed a 25-year naming rights deal on the 23rd of August of that year. During the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the stadium will operate under a different designation. FIFA's policy on corporate-sponsored venues requires it to be called New York/New Jersey Stadium for the duration of the tournament.

• 4. The Solar Ring

  ›

  In June 2009, the New Meadowlands Stadium Corporation and the Environmental Protection Agency signed a memorandum of understanding on environmental practices. The agreement set targets to reduce air pollution, conserve water and energy, improve waste management, and limit construction-related emissions. The stated goal was to prevent nearly 1.68 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. That target covered the construction period and the stadium's first year of operation.

  The EPA named MetLife the "Greenest Stadium" in the NFL in 2009. The construction project used around 40,000 tons of recycled steel. An additional 20,000 tons were recovered from the demolished Giants Stadium. Seating was manufactured from recycled plastic and scrap iron. Construction vehicles operated on cleaner diesel fuel and diesel engine filters, with idle times kept to a minimum. Under the memorandum, the stadium corporation was required to report its environmental progress to the EPA every six months.

  In 2012, DLR Group partnered with NRG Energy to design and install what they called a Solar Ring on the stadium's upper rim. The ring consists of 1,350 building-integrated photovoltaic solar panels assembled into 47 individual frames. Those panels generate approximately 350 kilowatts of electricity, nearly 25 times the amount needed to power the LED display system they surround. Surplus electricity feeds into the stadium's general systems or back to the power grid. In July 2017, the Stadium Business Summit named MetLife Stadium its Venue of the Year, an award given to the world's best sports venue for outstanding performance over the previous 12 months.

  In 2023, the stadium installed the FieldTurf Core System, the first multilayer dual-polymer monofilament fiber surface of its kind. The new surface incorporates heavyweight infill, designed to be more durable and to reduce the incidence of player injury.

• 5. The Soccer Stage

  ›

  The first international football match at MetLife took place on the 7th of May, 2010, between Mexico and Ecuador. It drew 77,507 fans. A second followed on the 10th of August, 2010, when the United States faced Brazil before 77,223 fans on a temporary grass field. Brazil won 2-0.

  On the 9th of June, 2012, Lionel Messi scored a hat trick as Argentina defeated Brazil 4-3 in a friendly match. On the 26th of June, 2016, MetLife hosted the Copa America Centenario final. The tournament marked the centennial of CONMEBOL, South America's governing soccer federation, and was co-organized by CONCACAF. After a 0-0 draw through extra time, Chile defeated Argentina 4-2 on penalties before 82,026 fans.

  On the 23rd of July, 2023, a friendly between Manchester United and Arsenal drew 82,262 fans. United won 2-0, and the crowd set the stadium's record for a soccer match.

  Nine matches of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup were held at MetLife, including the final on the 13th of July. Chelsea defeated Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in front of 81,118 fans to claim the title.

  Eight matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup are scheduled at the stadium, including the final on the 19th of July, 2026. To accommodate a regulation-size grass field while preserving NFL seating, renovations began in January 2024. Four corners of the existing concrete lower bowl were demolished. Phase I was completed in May 2024 and Phase II in May 2025, replacing 1,740 permanent seats with a new modular steel composite system.

• 6. Record Nights

  ›

  Taylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour arrived at MetLife in 2018 for three consecutive shows, selling all 165,564 available tickets. She became the first female artist to headline and sell out three consecutive nights at the venue.

  In May 2023, Swift returned for the Eras Tour. Those three nights set the highest three-day attendance total in the stadium's history. Ed Sheeran followed in June 2023 with two nights on his Mathematics Tour. His second show, on the 11th of June, drew 89,000 fans, breaking the record for the largest single-concert crowd at MetLife.

  On the 18th and the 19th of May, 2019, BTS became the first Korean act to perform at the stadium. Romeo Santos played on the 21st of September, 2019, the first Latin artist to headline the venue.

  Beyonce's Cowboy Carter Tour arrived in May 2025 for five consecutive shows. Total ticket sales across those nights reached 250,085, and the run generated $70,284,615 in reported gross revenue, the highest for any concert run at the stadium. Beyonce now holds the record for the most shows by a single artist at MetLife, with 12 performances across multiple tours.

  In September 2023, Karol G became the first Latin act to headline and sell out two consecutive nights at the stadium. The two shows moved 109,793 tickets and generated a reported gross of more than $24 million.

• 7. Historic Firsts

  ›

  On the 25th of May, 2010, the NFL announced that MetLife Stadium would host Super Bowl XLVIII. No Super Bowl had ever been played in the New York metropolitan area. Nor had one been staged in a cold-weather city at an outdoor venue without a roof. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell waived the standard climate-control requirement. He described the situation as a "unique, once-only circumstance" tied to celebrating the new stadium and the NFL's heritage in New York.

  The game was played on the 2nd of February, 2014. The temperature at kickoff was 49 degrees Fahrenheit, making it the third-coldest Super Bowl on record. The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos 43-8.

  WrestleMania 29 was held at MetLife on the 7th of April, 2013, before 80,676 spectators. At that time, it was the third most-attended event in WWE history and the highest-grossing, generating $12.3 million. Six years later, on the 7th of April, 2019, WrestleMania 35 returned to MetLife. Attendance reached 82,265 and revenue climbed to $16.9 million, overtaking the previous record.

  The stadium hosted its first outdoor ice hockey games in February 2024, as part of the NHL Stadium Series. On the 17th of February, Devils captain Nico Hischier scored the first NHL goal in MetLife history. It came on a breakaway 32 seconds into the first period. The New Jersey Devils defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 before 70,328 fans. The following day, the New York Rangers defeated the New York Islanders 6-5 in overtime before 79,690 fans, the third-largest attendance in NHL history. Rangers forward Artemi Panarin was credited with the winning goal 10 seconds into overtime. Video review confirmed the puck would have crossed the goal line even as the net came loose from its moorings.

  On the 1st of August, 2012, MetLife hosted the 12th Siyum HaShas, a celebration of the completion of the Talmud. The gathering follows the Daf Yomi study program, in which participants work through the full text over multiple years. With on-field seating added, the crowd reached 93,000, the highest capacity gathering in the stadium's history. The event carried a Department of Homeland Security level two security designation, the most critical below a presidential visit. The 14th Siyum HaShas is scheduled for the 6th of June, 2027.