Meadowlands Xanadu

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The Meadowlands Xanadu (also known as the Xanadu Project) will be a retail and entertainment complex in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in New Jersey, USA. This complex was to have been completed in 2007, but the grand opening has been pushed back until at least 2008. If and when completed, Meadowlands Xanadu will be the largest retail and entertainment complex in New Jersey, and will include 4.8 million square feet of entertainment, sports, retail, office, and hotel space. The Xanadu Project will reside within the Meadowlands Sports Complex, using underutilized and existing parking areas. Additional parking will be provided through the addition of new parking decks.

The project is being developed by the Mills Corporation in partnership with Mack-Cali Realty Corporation, and is being financed by Kan Am. It is being designed by The Rockwell Group.

1 Architectural Detail
2 Main Features
3 Other features
4 Concerns and Controversy
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Architectural Detail

The exterior of the Meadowlands Xanadu will be a combination of aluminum composite and aluminum siding, producing a sleek patchwork of turquoises, reds, yellows, and greens. The south end of the building is accented by America's first indoor ski slope that will double as a giant sculpture.

The mall will be visible from the New Jersey Turnpike.

[edit] Main Features

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The project, based on a similar one in Madrid, Spain, will be divided into five areas:

[edit] Sports

The sports area is an area devoted to sports. Sports enthusiasts can watch live television remotes for their favorite NFL pre-game show on a three-story video wall, and participate in tailgating parties, contests and events featuring favorite athletes. There will also be a barbecue area and TV production and broadcast studio. Attractions include:

Snowdome: A 250,000 sq. ft. indoor ski resort that will be open year round. It is the first indoor ski resort in the U.S.

SkyVenture: A state-of-the-art skydiving simulator and Vertical wind tunnel.

Formula One raceway: An indoor race car facility owned by Formula One.

Bergen Ballpark at the Meadowlands: The Bergen Ballpark at the Meadowlands will be a 8,000-seat baseball-only stadium housing the Bergen Cliff Hawks.

Bergen River Dogs Stadium: A lacrosse stadium that will house the Bergen River Dogs.

Cabela's: A 175,000 sq. ft. outdoor equipment store including a mountain replica with running waterfalls and streams, a trout pond and trophy animals in re-creations of their distinct habitats, a 40,000-gallon freshwater aquarium stocked with fish native to the area, museum-quality representations of many wild-game species, including an expansive diorama devoted to African game animals, a World-class Gun Library™, a full-service fly-fishing shop, a shooting gallery, indoor archery range, Bargain Cave, featuring discount prices on returned and discontinued merchandise. There will also be live fishing demonstrations, indoor archery and boating lessons.

[edit] Entertainment

An entertainment area will include a ribbon of giant digital screens will feature music videos and movie trailers for upcoming releases, views of the Manhattan skyline and beyond on the giant roof-top Ferris wheel, to be developed in partnership with theme park and entertainment guru and CEO of Grupo Magico, Rene Aziz, and live performances and album release parties will be held in this area. Attractions include:

Virgin Megastore: At the first Virgin Megastore in New Jersey, visitors will find one of large inventories of music, games, videos and DVDs, plus hundreds of listening posts, video viewing stations, live music, music video screens and more. In addition, this new store - next door to Continental Airlines Arena, one of the nation's most popular concert venues - will host in-store appearances by many performers.

Borders Books and Music: The Borders store at Meadowlands Xanadu will feature up to 200,000 books, music, DVD and periodical titles, as well as cutting-edge service technology through Title Sleuth(TM) self-service computer stations located throughout the store. In addition, digital listening stations will let customers scan and preview nearly every CD in the store and view trailers of DVDs. The new Borders will include a Seattle's Best Coffee Café, offering a variety of gourmet coffees, teas, beverages and desserts.

Entertainment Weekly center: An area providing the leading source of news and reviews and commentary on the world of entertainment and & pop culture.

House of Blues: The home for live music and southern-inspired cuisine in an environment celebrating Rock n' Roll, Punk, Alternative, Country, Hip-Hop, Rhythm and Blues, Rock en Espanol, Jazz, Zydeco, Folk, Electronica and many other genres that grace their stages. The 1,500-seat House of Blues at Meadowlands Xanadu will feature the best in Southern style dining and hospitality and an eclectic collection of unique merchandise.

Digital Playground: A new concept store store owned by Circuit City with the feel of a consumer electronics trade show to the Meadowlands Xanadu Entertainment district as visitors will roam the expansive floor to explore, experience, and purchase next-generation consumer electronics and technology in a completely new, hands-on way.

Muvico Theaters: As the country's largest theater, the 26-screen, 160,000 sq. ft. Egyptian-themed Muvico will host film festivals and opening-night premieres. The theater will feature 26 wall-to-wall movie screens, stadium-seating, on-line advance ticketing, valet parking, a children's playroom, a Premier Level with its own restaurant and bar and nine balcony auditoriums with oversized loveseats, a colossal rooftop terrace featuring a 60-foot outdoor screen, and an on-site helipad.

Lucky Strike: An upscale bowling lounge that brings together bowling and entertainment, visitors will bowl in an intimate contemporary decor with a 1930's/1940' feel while enjoying American cuisine in an upscale restaurant and lounge.

Felt: A swank billiards lounge by Steven Foster, visitors will enjoy a singularly upscale ambiance with vintage elements, modern decor, billiards tables, shufflepuck, full-service dining and a thousand-gallon jellyfish aquarium reminiscent of a living lava lamp.

[edit] Children's Education

An area called "children's education" will include children's stores, interactive games, and play areas. Attractions include:

Party House: A multi-venue entertainment complex, will span two levels and feature a roller rink, sports simulation arcade and 18-hole miniature golf course.

It's Sugar!: The largest specialty sweets store in the world, visitors will travel across a candy-themed bridge over a 30-foot chocolate waterfall into a 36,000-square-foot city created out of sweets where they can enjoy a candy-themed elevated ride and candy museum.

Wannado City: Wannado City is an indoor role-playing amusement center. Billed as "where kids can do what they wannado," it is a child-sized representation of a metropolis where children aged 4-13 participate in different careers and other lifelike activities. Careers in which the "kidizens" can participate include firefighter, police officer, lawyer, TV reporter, and actor. They can use issued money, "Wongas", to set up bank accounts.

[edit] Food & Home

A food area will include some restaurants and the food court, as well as Interior design stores. Attractions include:

Balducci's: A gourmet food market with on-premise dining. Balducci's offers fresh perishable foods and chef-prepared meals, legendary brands, unusual imports, market stalls, tasting stations, pantry and household necessities and a dedication to offering the best tasting foods in the world.

Cooking Studio: An area where visitors can watch world-renowned chefs duel in competition on a cooking studio that will be featured on national TV.

Viking Culinary Arts Center: A state-of-the-art cooking school, theater-style demonstration area and themed ancillary retail located in the Food & Home District, visitors will be able to celebrate their passion for food by honing their cooking skills in a glass-enclosed teaching school.

Strip House: A sophisticated restaurant serving modern steakhouse fare against a sultry backdrop of red velvet banquettes and photographs of 1930's burlesque stars. Executive chef David Walzog will continue to delight diners with juicy cuts of meats and decadent side dishes such as truffled creamed spinach and goose fat potatoes.

Summer Shack: A restaurant that will bring seafood lovers the casual atmosphere and the fresh seafood of a classic, rural New England Clam Shack.

Ruby Foo's: A restaurant whose menu features a vast collection of delicious dishes from every part of the Asian continent

Dos Caminos: A restaurant which captures the true spirit of genuine Mexican cuisine.

[edit] Fashion

A fashion area will have most of the malls' stores, designer appearances, and fashion shows. This area includes:

Paris Runway: A uniquely designed fashion runway that will be the set for the fashion shows.

ELLE pavilion: An exhibition and multimedia space, will create an innovative and accessible approach to the world of fashion, beauty and style. The ELLE Pavilion will showcase content from ELLE, ELLEgirl, and ELLE Decor in an interactive setting where visitors can gain a "behind-the-scene" look at the fashion industry.

[edit] Other features

Commercial

Four 440,000 square-foot class A office buildings built over a six-story parking podium with sophisticated infrastructure will be located next to the mall.

Accommodations

A twelve-story, full service hotel with 520 guest rooms and conference facilities will be located near the office buildings next to the mall.

[edit] Concerns and Controversy

The Xanadu Project is not without controversy. From traffic concerns to environmental concerns, there are many who oppose the idea of building a permanent shopping center within the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The New York Giants proposed that Xanadu be closed on days when the NFL team had home games, as part of the deal to build a New Meadowlands Stadium to replace Giants Stadium. The Giants then made an agreement with Xanadu to allow the complex to be open on game days, with the option to sue if traffic became a concern, an agreement which remains in effect now that the proposed NFL stadium will be co-owned with the New York Jets. As of early 2006, the project has gained necessary approvals and building of the Xanadu Project has begun.

New Jersey Transit is working on extending the nearby Pascack Valley Line to the Meadowlands Sports Complex by the end of 2007, in preparation for the opening of the Meadowlands Xanadu. There are also plans to extend the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to the complex.

An analyst at Banc of America Securities pushed Mills Corporation to drop the Xanadu project, citing significant cost overruns.^[1]