Oh Say Can You (NJ)SEA

Okay, so it's the six hundred and fifty-first chapter in the Metros stadium saga. Now Harrison is back on the table, with the NJSEA, which runs the Meadowlands, issuing the bonds and getting a guarantee on a limit to the number of concerts.

When this story first broke, the other shoe that dropped was that the team might get a stadium at the Meadowlands instead of in Harrison. Now, with NJSEA getting so intrinsically involved in the revived Harrison deal, this whole development seems to have been precipitated by acting governor Richard Codey being really tight with the Sports and Exposition Authority. They now have a stake in the deal, so I guess Codey is happy.

What I don't get is how the concert business side deal works. I'm not entirely sure that the soccer stadium would be going up against the Brendan Byrne Continental Airlines Arena as a venue. More likely, it would be in competition with whatever they call the Garden State Arts Center nowadays, much like the Fire stadium in Bridgeview will be up against the Tweeter Center more than the United Center or Allstate Arena.

This seems like it's been a clear case of politics, where the new guy in power has his own hooks in different parts of the state machine, and has to satisfy his various fiefdoms now that he's the top dog. If this does finally break the logjam, then I'm more than willing to laugh it off as the way business is done in Jersey. I suspect we'll know for sure in 30 to 60 days.