To many onlooking officials and community members, the plan seemed to come straight out of left field, and lack both economic and practical feasibility – some have estimated that the price tag for the project would approach $5 billion.

Others, namely City Council Speaker Peter Vallone, took the announcement as good news. The Speaker sees this as a victory because it means that the mayor wants to keep the Yankees in the Bronx, said a spokesman for Vallone.

But another theory being put forward to explain the sheer grandiosity of the plan is that with only two years left in his term, and as he looks to higher office, the mayor wants to leave a permanent mark on the city. The bulk of the mayor’s policy thus far has been one of subtraction. He has removed the squeegee men, removed the strip clubs, and removed graffiti. What he has been unable to do is build something.

The mayor suffers from what Freud would call an Edifice Complex – he longs to construct a towering monument in his own image.

Giuliani has debunked the notion that New York is unmanageable, but he has failed to debunk the notion that it is impossible to build in New York.

Most New Yorkers and officials are for Rudy’s desire to build, that is, as long as he doesn’t name the stadium after himself. But what many find troubling is that Giuliani has opted to build this exciting new attraction in a borough that has never been short on exciting attractions.

So why not build the stadium and the complex in the outer boroughs?

“Rudy has never had an affinity for the outer boroughs,” said one political analyst. “If you consider the proposed Yankee Stadium plan, the tax breaks given to businesses in Manhattan, this is obvious. Meanwhile, projects like the Second Avenue subway, which would serve the people of both Manhattan and Queens, are put on the back burner.”

Flushing Meadows Sports Complex

But as the New York Mets prepare to build a state of the art retractable domed stadium in the style of Ebbets Field, the United States Tennis Association completes the additions to its new Flushing Meadows facility, and Borough President Claire Shulman carried out a $12.8 million project to develop the Flushing waterfront, several local officials are calling on the mayor to build the football stadium in Queens.

“Unfortunately, we have a Manhattan mentality when it comes to public policy endeavors,” said Queens Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin. “But with the Shea Stadium plan about to move forward, we have an opportunity to not only bring a football franchise back to Queens, but to develop Flushing Meadows into a major attraction.”

Currently, McLaughlin said, when fans come to the US Open or games at Shea Stadium, they find that aside from the sporting events there is not much to speak of in the surrounding area. As a result, the stadiums as they now exist are not directly benefiting the surrounding communities. McLaughlin envisions a Flushing Meadows sports complex and waterfront that would tie stadiums, restaurants, stores and hotels to downtown Flushing.

“With a little vision,” said McLaughlin, “we can do for Queens what Camden Yards did for downtown Baltimore.”

And McLaughlin is not alone.

“While the mayor’s plan has more merit than his previous proposal to move the Yankees, if given the choice, I would obviously prefer the new stadium to be in Queens,” said Councilman Walter McCaffrey.

“As a legislator, and more importantly as a season ticket holder, I can think of nothing greater than the Jets coming back to Queens,” said Assemblyman Mark Weprin.

However, there are several hurdles to be overcome. For one, local officials are against taking park land away from the public.

“We have enough here already,” said Estelle Cooper, Assistant Parks Commissioner. Cooper added that “she would not be against a Flushing sports complex as long as the additional land was not part of the existing park.”

Another issue is whether or not there is a team to move into the new facility. The Jets lease with the Meadowlands runs until 2008, and they have yet to comment on where they would like to go next. But it is the conventional wisdom of developers that if you build it, they will come. A third problem, according to Councilman John Sabini, is that the terms of the USTA’s lease with the city, which was negotiated under the Dinkins administration, might prevent an additional facility from holding events next door. There’s a clause in the lease which effectively allows them to dictate what can go on in that part of the park.

Regardless of what happens in the end, Queens Borough President Claire Shulman has opted to look at the bright side. “We already have the nation’s premier tennis stadium,” said Shulman spokesman Dan Andrews. “And soon we will have a new Shea Stadium. We’re not doing so bad.”