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Week of August 24, 2000 |
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Top Miami Heat Group executive accepts NY Jets football post By Marilyn BowdenL. Jay Cross, who saw the Heat Group through the development of American Airlines Arena, is leaving his job as president of business operations this week to become president of a company that will develop a stadium for the NFL's New York Jets. A group spokesman said Miami Heat Vice President Eric Woolworth has been named interim president. Mr. Cross, who was originally hired in 1996 to oversee stadium development, came to Miami after a two-year stint shepherding development of the Air Canada Centre, home of the NBA's Toronto Raptors, according to information provided by The Heat. "Jay's contributions, including the realization of the American Airlines Arena, have been immeasurable," said Mickey Arison, managing partner. "I know all of us at The Heat, including Coach Pat Riley and the players, all thank him for his valuable counsel over the years. We wish him the very best of luck in his new venture." Mr. Cross is credited with the complex assembly of the land where the stadium now stands. This involved defeating a 1996 referendum to forestall development in Bayfront Park. He also masterminded an unusual public-private partnership between The Heat and Miami-Dade County — the county getting 100% ownership, the private sector footing 100% of construction costs through $184 million in bonds. Since his appointment to his current position in 1997, Mr. Cross has expanded The Heat Group to include management of the Women's National Basketball Association's Miami Sol and a portfolio of real estate holdings around the arena, an area that has come to be known as Heat Street. Development deals in that area so far include Gloria and Emilio Estefan's recently opened Bongos Cuban CafÇ and a 700,000-square-foot Technology Center of the Americas to be developed by Terremark.
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