Giants Stadium (1976-2009)



For the past three decades Giants Stadium has hosted monumental events for the state of New Jersey. In its 34 year run, the stadium hosted 1615 events for 71 million fans. The memories that took place at Giants Stadium will last a lifetime.

It all began on October 10, 1976, when a sellout crowd of over 76,000 fans witnessed the National Football League’s New York Giants play the Dallas Cowboys in the Stadium's inaugural game. Until 2009, Giants Stadium was the host of various sports teams, both professional and collegiate. The Stadium was best known for being the home to the NFL’s New York Giants and the New York Jets. Rutgers University played multiple home games at the Stadium. Army and Navy played each other multiple times at the Stadium. Giants Stadium was also home to the North American Soccer League’s New York Cosmos and Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls. Numerous international soccer matches have also been played at the Stadium, including the 1994 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament.

Besides being the only stadium in the country to house two NFL teams, Giants Stadium was also a leading concert facility.  In its final year, Giants Stadium was awarded #1 “Top Stop” Stadium Award by Venues Today.  It was also named #1 Stadium Worldwide by Billboard magazine five years in a row (2003-2008). Various artists have performed at Giants Stadium including Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band, The Grateful Dead, Madonna, The Eagles, The Who, U2, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, The Beach Boys, AC/DC, Billy Joel, Elton John, Aerosmith, as well as many other legends. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band closed the stadium with five concerts. Springsteen is the top selling act of all time at the Meadowlands with 24 concerts at Giants Stadium, and 37 at IZOD Center.

The Stadium has also been host to major events, such as the closing ceremonies of the Statue of Liberty Centennial celebration and Pope John Paul II's Papal Mass. Pele and the New York Cosmos attracted sellouts to almost every game, including the Brazilian farewell game.  The New Orleans Saints played as the home team at Giants Stadium in the second week of the 2005 season due to the damage done to the Louisiana Superdome from Hurricane Katrina.  The Stadium was also used as an emergency staging area following the September 11th terrorist attacks on New York City.

Giants Stadium was a national landmark.  Its triumphs in the sports and entertainment industry will surely not be forgotten.