Watchdog

John Mara on whether the Giants have learned from the Yankees' and Mets' ticket selling challenges:

"I really think it’s apples and oranges. Certainly, we’re aware of it and it’s something we’re cognizant of. But I just think it’s two different products. We’re talking about selling 10 games a year and they’re talking about selling 81-plus. And our price structures are different. So we’re aware of it but I can’t really say that has had a huge impact on any decisions we’ve made."

On whether they have learned more broadly from the baseball teams' experiences opening new stadiums:

"We certainly are aware of what they did p.r. wise and marketing wise and operationally. We’re definitely aware of that and have learned some pretty good lessons, I think. One of the things that we’re fortunate to have with this construction so far ahead of schedule, we’ll be able to have some events in there, concerts, maybe some soccer games, events like that before the football starts so we’ll get the kinks worked out.

"We’ll absolutely have a bunch of events. We already have some scheduled. It’s a little early for me to tell you about the first event. It would probably be a smaller event of some kind."

On whether there is a downside to not having a naming rights deal in place a year before the opening:

"No, no, no, no, no, there’s no downside to it. We certainly would like to get it done before we open the building, but we’ll deal with whatever the situation is. I think we’re seeing some improvement [in the market] in recent months, and hopefully that will continue."

On PSL sales:

"If you look at where we are sales-wise, with the exception of some club seats, we’re sold out of the rest of the building. I don’t think too many buildings can make that claim 15 or 16 months before opening . . . I’m very confident the building will be sold out before it opens. Most people, if you were to ask them, probably don’t even know tickets are available. Some of you have written some articles lately and now that word will get out there. We really haven’t gotten to the general public yet, we’ve kept it in house."

On whether, if someone walks into the Giants office today with $20,000, will they take it?

"Yes, or $7,500."

On whether he is surprised the Cowboys do not have a naming rights deal for their stadium, which opens this year:

"If you had asked me that a year ago, I’d have said yes, that would surprise me. Now, having been out in the marketplace, it doesn’t surprise me. We’ve had some interest there, and given the amount of time we have we’re going to get it settled."

On his excitement level rising as the new stadium takes shape:

"It definitely is, especially with the seats going in. I’m excited about it because I think our fans are going to walk in here and say this is really a great facility. When you walk around the concourses and compare it to what we had at Giants Stadium, it’s a significant difference. Our fans having been in Giants Stadium since 1976. That was a great stadium for us, but let’s face it, it was a little rough in certain spots, the concourses, rest rooms, concession stands. They’ll find a big improvement."

Woody Johnson on his excitement level about the new stadium:

"You can read drawings, but this is three dimensional. You can touch, feel the stone over here and so on. I can’t wait for the fans to see this. The minute the thing is done we’re going to have dry runs – concerts, events, getting our food service going, get our people trained. We’ll get it going. We’re going to have a much different feeling here."

On what the Jets have learned from the Yankees' and Mets' new stadiums:

"You try to learn every day in this business. We’re going to be prepared. They do a particularly good job at the Mets with parking, because they’re more reliant on that. They do a terrific job. And the customer service at Citi Field is amazing.

"At the new Yankees facility, it’s just awesome what they’ve done. Some of their clubs, with the food and the service and where you are. I know they’re not all filled up yet, but they eventually will all be filled up, in my opinion. It’s a great experience to go down, have lunch, come back up, if you want to get out of the sun or have a break from the game you go down. It’s really terrific."

On whether he would prefer to have a naming rights deal in place:

"Obviously it’s always better to do something early. Any time you can take something out of the project risk portfolio it’s probably better. On the other hand, this is going to be an unbelievable opportunity for a major company that wants to be involved with the most popular of all sports, the NFL, and you get a game every week, plus all the other things we’re going to do. For the right company, this is a great deal."

On PSL sales:

"They’ll all be sold. We have another year, and we basically just started. There is something in this building for virtually everyone, affordable."

Johnson said the team is working through its season ticket list by seniority offering seats in the new stadium, and currently is up to 1979 or '80.

New stadium CEO and loyal WatchDog reader Mark Lamping was nice enough to show me (and a couple of dozen other people) around the place.

What struck me most was how much smaller the upper deck is than in the old building, and how much larger the middle deck is.

One of the key features of the stadium will be video boards placed in each corner rather than in the end zones.

The seats are three shades of gray, a neutral color that avoids any trouble with too much blue or green.

It looks like it will be a nice place, but in the end, it's just a football stadium, and thus has less room - or desire - for quirky novelty than in baseball stadiums.

Lamping explained that the lights on the stadium's frame that can switch from bluish to greenish depending on which NFL team is at home also can display other colors - i.e. red for Rutgers.

My favorite feature of the new stadium actually will be in place for the final year of the old stadium - a spur of the New Jersey Transit system that will begin delivering fans sans cars in late July of this year.

As for the environmental initiatives announced by the likes of New Jersey governor John Corzine, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and commissioner Roger Goodell, they are extensive and impressive - including no-flush urinals like the ones at Citi Field.

"This is corporate responsibility at it's very best," said Corzine, who later got a tad hyperbolic when he called the stadium "one of the most exciting construction projects that America has ever seen."