Football
Associated Press 17y

Site cleanup delays opening of Red Bulls Stadium to Sept. 2008

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The opening of the New York Red
Bulls' $140 million stadium has been pushed back two months until
September 2008 because of delays in the cleanup of industrial waste
and foundations at the stadium site.

Any more delays in the completion of the Red Bull Park in
Harrison would force the team to play its entire 2008 MLS season at
Giants Stadium, managing director Marc de Grandpre said Monday.

De Grandpre said that oil and old structures have been found
below the surface at the construction site and "it takes time to
clean them up."

Peter Higgins, chairman of the Harrison Redevelopment Agency,
said there was very little unforeseen contamination since ground
was broken in September and that the majority of the delay was
caused by the discovery of subsurface structures.

"It's building foundations, huge concrete slabs, concrete
monoliths that probably supported cranes or heavy machinery of some
type," Higgins said in a telephone interview.

Higgins said some of the slabs are 16 inches in diameter and 4
feet thick, and they have been found on different portions of the
old industrial site that included a pipe factory.

The additional site work will cost more than originally
budgeted, Higgins said, adding that the team will pay the bill. He
did not know how much it would cost.

"To be two months behind schedule at this point is not a minor
delay," Higgins said.

Had the stadium opened on time, the Red Bulls would have played
about 10 home games next season at the new stadium. It is a
25,000-seat facility that will feature a "European-style" roof
that covers all the seats and 53 luxury suites situated 12 rows
from the field.

With a September completion, the team would play about five home
games at Red Bull Park.

The Red Bulls, who were known as the MetroStars until last
season, have played the past 11 seasons at Giants Stadium in the
Meadowlands sports complex.

Anschutz Entertainment Group, which began looking to build the
stadium six years ago, owned the MetroStars until March 2006, when
it sold the team and a half-interest in the stadium to Austrian
energy drink maker Red Bull.

AEG also owns the Chicago Fire, Houston Dynamo, and Los Angeles
Galaxy, and built the $150 million Home Depot Center complex for
the Galaxy in 2003.

With surrounding infrastructure, Red Bull Park will cost $200
million and be the centerpiece of a $1 billion construction project
that will include office space, retail outlets and housing across
the Passaic River from Newark.

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