HARRISON, New Jersey - The official groundbreaking ceremony for Red Bull Park, a 25,000-seat soccer stadium to be developed as a major component of the three-million square foot Harrison MetroCentre, will take place on September 19, 2006 at 11:30 AM it was announced by Nick Sakiewicz, president of AEG New York, developers and managing partners of the outdoor venue.
When completed in summer, 2008, Red Bull Park will be the home of the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer, concerts, international soccer matches, special events and other sporting competitions. AEG has recently developed and operates similar world-class "soccer specific" stadiums such as The Home Depot Center (Carson, California) and Toyota Park (Bridgeview, Illinois).
"It's awesome to be finally breaking ground for the construction of what is going to be a very special stadium and surrounding development," said Sakiewicz. "Red Bull Park and Harrison Metro Center will be a place where soccer and entertainment lives. The rich soccer history in the area combined with the tremendous access to this location makes this the perfect place to build Red Bull Park."
Recently, Hudson County, New Jersey and the Town of Harrison, New Jersey completed the sale of $39.4 million of revenue bonds to finance the land acquisition necessary for the development of the Red Bull Park. AEG's partner on the stadium development is Red Bull Company Limited, the Austrian company that produces the world's leading energy drink as well as operates the New York Red Bulls soccer franchise since acquiring it from AEG earlier this year.
The $100 million state-of-the-art stadium will feature a 360 degree 'European"-style roof/canopy covering the majority of the seating area, spacious locker rooms, sound and lighting systems specially tailored to the unique surroundings of Red Bull Park, the finest turf to create soccer's best pitch and well-appointed hospitality areas featuring 63 luxury suites positioned only 12 rows from the playing surface.
Advance Realty Group's multi-billion dollar Harrison MetroCentre, will feature 3 million square feet of office space, 3,500 residential units, 300,000 square feet of retail space, and over 10,000 decked parking spaces when completely built-out.
