Season tickets for New York Jets and Giants football games have been handed down for generations, leaving a vast majority of fans on the teams’ waiting lists unable to buy seats.

Until now — for Jets fans.
The Jets sent an e-mail to “waiting list” members Tuesday informing them of ticket availability at all levels for the upcoming season. It’s the final campaign at Giants Stadium before the team moves next door to a $1.6 billion replacement.
“There are 5 million Jets fans out there just in the New York metropolitan area, but most think it’s virtually impossible to buy season tickets,” team executive Matt Higgins said. “Due to the economy and the transition to the new stadium, we want to get the word out that there is a small window where a few thousand tickets will be available. We will sell out, but this is an opportunity.”
Jets fans snapping up the available tickets won’t have long to wait to get into their seats — the NFL team’s preseason home games are Aug. 14 and Sept. 3, with the regular-season home opener Sept. 20 versus New England. Fans buying tickets for the eight regular-season home games must purchase the same seats for the two preseason games at the same price.
In previous years, a limited number of fans among the roughly 14,000 people on the Jets’ waiting list were informed of their chance to replace season-ticket holders who chose not to renew. Higgins said about 7,000 tickets changed hands that way last year.
Waiting-list members now can buy the available seats on a first-come, first-served basis, but Higgins said the most senior members on the list are being called directly to gauge their interest. The seats are not yet available to those not on the waiting list.
The unprecedented availability comes in the midst of a weak economy, the Jets coming off a disappointing season and fan resentment about the cost of “personal seat licenses” for the new stadium. The PSL is a one-time charge of up to $20,000 or more for the right to purchase season tickets in the lower deck.
“After years of waiting, now it’s your turn,” reads the e-mail sent to fans. “You are now eligible to purchase season tickets. We anticipate an action-packed season under new head coach Rex Ryan. We hope you join the season-ticket family in 2009 to mark the end of an era and usher in a new one — the opening of a new stadium in 2010.”
Giants spokesman Pat Hanlon said that no season tickets are available for 2009. But as in past years, a small number of single-game tickets are made available to waiting-list members, he added.