January 5, 2010
GOODBYE, PETER
Harrison Redevelopment Agency chairman Higgins dies

Peter Higgins III, chairman of the Harrison Redevelopment Agency, one of the forces behind the project that became Red Bull Arena, has passed away after a battle with cancer.

Red Bulls managing director Erik Stover, at Red Bulls Reader, the MLS team's official website, said Higgins "quite simply the reason that the New York Red Bulls have a new home in Harrison. His vision and leadership guided us through numerous difficulties."

Stover said that that he had hoped that Higgins would be around for the opening of the stadium.

"When we cut the ribbon for the opening of this stadium, we will do so with a heavy heart and the very real understanding that it would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of Pete Higgins," Stover said. "For all of us with the New York Red Bulls our deepest sympathies go out to the Higgins family.

Philadelphia Union CEO and operating partner Nick Sakiewicz, former president and general manager of the MetroStars who played a key role in getting the stadium off the ground, also was saddened by Higgins' passing.

“Peter Higgins was the definition of class, loyalty and friendship. I worked with Peter for four years on the stadium project in Harrison, N.J. and he always put his family and his community first in everything he did," he said.

"Peter was the driving force behind the redevelopment project that has employed so many people," Sakieiwicz added in a statement. "Without him, there would be no stadium. And it will be a living legacy to a great man.”

In lieu of flowers, the Higgins family has requested that donations be made in Peter’s name to Camp Fatima of New Jersey, P.O. Box 234, Harrison, NJ, 07029.