The shared home of the Jets and Giants is going to have a more neutral look this weekend.
The end zones at MetLife Stadium will not be painted with the Giants’ and Jets’ team names and team colors because of the short turnaround between home games and inclement weather expected in the forecast, according to a press release.
The Jets host the Texans at 4:30 p.m. Saturday and the Giants host the Titans at 1 p.m. Sunday.
A neutral end zone featuring green turf with nine diagonal slash marks will be used for both games.
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The team-specific end zones are made up of six panels and are rolled out using a forklift. The two large rolls weigh 10,000 pounds apiece, and the four smaller rolls weigh 5,000 pounds each.
This is not unprecedented as neutral end zones were used on Dec. 17-18, 2016, when the Jets hosted the Dolphins on a Saturday night and the Giants hosted the Lions in an early Sunday game.
According to the Giants’ press release:
After the conclusion of the Jets game on Saturday evening, the MetLife Stadium Operations team will have approximately 12 hours to complete the building changeover. The goal is to have the stadium ready for player warmups by 9 a.m. on Sunday – four hours before the Giants and Titans kick off.
To reach the goal, the stadium will mobilize a small army of 60 laborers in the stadium and parking lots (three times the customary number). There are more than 1,200 manual elements that need to be changed out in the stadium and lots, including green to blue gel packs that up-light the venue, field wall, Ring of Honor, plaza banners, suite and press box artwork.
A standard changeover requires 50 cleaners. For this changeover, 200 additional cleaners will be deployed.
Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook.
