Cablevision and MSG Spent $30M to Lobby Against Stadium

New York, NY —

Over $40 million was spent on the campaigns for and against the West Side Stadium.

According a report by Common Cause/NY, the biggest spenders by far were cablevision and Madison Square Garden, which spent over $30 million on advertising and lobbying against the stadium.

The Jets and their allies spent far less -- about $10 million. That's still a lot by Albany lobbying standards. But it did prompt Common Cause to question whether big money lost out to bigger money in this battle.

The total spending is close to what gets spent on a gubernatorial or U.S Senate race in New York -- even though there was no public vote.

Both sides snapped up top lobbyists, but cablevision had what common cause calls an "A-list" team including former Senator Alfonse D'Amato, State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno's son, and Sheldon Silver's former Chief of Staff.