Every day, Bob Jordan, vice president of Design and Construction for the New York Jets, sits in his Manhattan office and attempts to predict the future. In fact, predicting the future has been a big part of his nearly three-decades long sporting facility design career as he finds ways to integrate technology that may or may not have been invented yet into stadium design plans.

“The thing about technology integration is that when you start construction you are two to four years ahead of when you’re actually going to implement it,” Jordan explains. “The challenge is to make sure that what you’re putting in the design today is going to be a platform for whatever the technology is when you open.”

Jordan has been broadening his technological knowledge since 1971, when he got his start in a slightly different field—working as a stage hand for rock and roll concerts.

After working his way from the back of the house to design and construction in the rock-and-roll world, Jordan’s transition into the sports arena was fairly smooth. He has worked on four stadiums across the country, including renovation and construction projects for the University of Texas at Arlington; Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas; the American Airlines Center in Dallas, home to the Dallas Mavericks; and his current project, the new Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, which is slated to open for the New York Giants and Jets in the fall of 2009.

Although concrete plans for the new facility have not yet been released, Jordan assures that the technology at the New Meadowlands will incorporate the growing industry trend toward amplifying the entertainment aspect surrounding every sporting event.