Concerns and Controversy
From traffic concerns to environmental concerns, there are many who have opposed the idea of building a permanent shopping center within the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The project is being built on state-owned land, and $81.3 million was spent on transportation improvements such as new off and on ramps and a train station at the Sports Complex. Some have also called the mall a "colossal real estate nightmare" and "perhaps the worst retail failure ever".
The New York Giants had proposed that the mall be closed on days when the NFL team had home games, as part of the deal to build a New Meadowlands Stadium to replace Giants Stadium. The Giants then made an agreement with then-Xanadu to allow the complex to be open on game days, with the option to sue if traffic became a concern, an agreement which remains in effect now that the New Meadowlands Stadium will be co-owned with the New York Jets.
The complex was originally developed by the Mills Corporation in partnership with Mack-Cali Realty Corporation, with financing by Kan Am. In May 2006, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it was formally investigating the Mills Corporation after the company announced that it was restating four years of earnings due to executive misconduct and accounting errors. Later in the year, an analyst at Bank of America Securities pushed Mills Corporation to drop the project, citing significant cost overruns. Subsequently, the troubled developer sold their stake in the mall project to private investment firm Colony Capital; the Mills Corporation collapsed soon after.
The Federal Aviation Administration expressed concerns with the height of the observation wheel (~330 ft) affecting local air traffic to and from Teterboro Airport. The height for the observation wheel has since been reduced to 286 ft (87 m).
Read more about this topic: American Dream Meadowlands
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