Surprise! The real cost of the Super Bowl for New Jersey residents

[FarCenter]

While next Sunday’s Super Bowl is often, and wrongly, touted as being played in New York, residents in New Jersey will bear a super-sized bill to host the football extravaganza in East Rutherford.

The cost so far: $17.7 million. And counting.

Much of that money has been spent by New Jersey Transit, which has added more trains to MetLife stadium to handle an expected game-day crowd of 12,000 commuters, and to reinforce its infrastructure to handle the load.

What the costs will for security and other game-day activities is still unknown. State Police and state sports officials won’t say what they expect the overtime and other costs will be.

Some estimates are that Super Bowl XVLIII could bring 400,000 visitors to the region and $550 million in revenue to the metropolitan New York area during the week-long festivities. But there is no guarantee which side of the Hudson River most of the money will be spent.

“We have a situation where New Jersey taxpayers could pay to enhance the New York economy. People who attend the game — will they stay in New York and not New Jersey?” said Robert Baade, Lake Forest college professor of economics, who has studied the financial effects of mega games such as the Super Bowl. “Why should ordinary people in New Jersey pay to enhance New York’s economy?”

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014301260037

Major league sports -- a time-honored way of converting taxpayer dollars to private profits.

[dembotoz]

1. maybe christie will close down the bridge again so only he and his buddies can attend

please understand that i am not from the area and have no real idea if the stadium is near or far from the bridge and if the bridge would be used to get to the game.....

[LiberalElite]

7. The GWB is to the northeast -

there are also two tunnels. But all are run by the Port Authority NY/NJ.

http://www.panynj.gov/SuperBowlXLVIII/pa-airports.html

[FarCenter]

8. NJ transit will also run special trains from Penn Station to the Meadowlands.

[former9thward]

2. NJ will easily get back its money and a lot more.

That is why cities compete for it. Yes a lot of money will be spent in NY. But the sheer volume will be a win for NJ -- assuming decent weather which is why it should never be in a cold weather state.

[Travis_0004]

3. Indy seemed to to a pretty good job with the super bowl, and the city made a good profit

This game is a bit unique because it is so close to the border beweeen 2 states, so one state might loose money, and one might make money, but they could have come up with a revenue sharing agreement for this game if that was in issue.

[Igel]

4. Funny slippage in thinking.

Seamlessly oozing from "metropolitan New York" which obviously includes much of N. Jersey to "we don't know which side the money will be spent on" to "only helping New York City."

Proof by uncertainty. Conclusion based on non-knowledge.

I guess people could fly into NYC, overnight there, somehow get to the Meadowlands without spending a dime in Jersey, brownbag it or refuse to buy anything in Jersey, and then return to NYC without spending a dime. Sounds a bit difficult.

Then there's the whole issue of taxing the players' salaries, noted in another thread here earlier today.

[FarCenter]

5. Yes, taxing the player's salaries is a bright spot!

[LiberalElite]

6. They could also

fly into Newark Liberty Airport and stay in NJ. http://www.panynj.gov/SuperBowlXLVIII/pa-airports.html

[LiberalEsto]

9. NJ hotels and motels are MUCH cheaper than those in NYC

I'm sure that will be a factor