Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) -- New York Jets owner Woody Johnson says fans won't pass up the chance to buy personal seat licenses for the team's new stadium even as the global credit crisis threatens the economy.

The National Football League team and the New York Giants announced months ago that they will sell the licenses, which require fans to pay a one-time fee for the right to buy season tickets, to help finance the $1.6 billion stadium scheduled to open in 2010.

``People who buy PSLs and suites are looking over the long term,'' Johnson said in an interview with Bloomberg's ``On The Ball'' radio program that will be broadcast this weekend. ``I know they realize, because I've been talking to a lot of them, that this is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy something that hasn't been available ever.''

While the sport isn't immune to declines in the economy as corporate partners and fans trim budgets, it tends to maintain its popularity in difficult times, Johnson said.

``I don't think you want to be presumptuous and say anything's recession-proof,'' Johnson said. ``But I think people would be apt to keep those tickets probably longer than other things.''

On Oct. 19, the Jets begin auctioning 2,000 licenses for club seats, which include access to the field area behind the team's bench, using the online ticket marketplace StubHub.com. Fans will buy the right to purchase $700 tickets in the Jets' ``Coaches Club,'' which includes a private bar, food service, parking and access to tickets for other stadium events.

The team will also charge between $4,000 and $25,000 for other seat licenses at the stadium. The team will not require licenses for about 27,000 upper-deck seats.

Revenue Bonds

Other stadium revenue appears secure, according to an Oct. 8 report by Moody's Investor Service Inc. that gave a Baa3 rating to about $650 million in project revenue bonds the Jets sold to pay for its share of the stadium.

The 19 million-person market remains supportive of both teams, Moody's said, and 80 percent of revenue comes from sources such as sponsors and suite-holders with contracts at least six years long. Even the risk of escalating construction costs is ``sufficiently mitigated,'' Moody's said.

``We had a one lump-sum, design-build where we transferred all the risk of building to the contractor,'' Johnson said.

The team has no plans for immediate changes in its business operation because of the economy, Johnson said.

``We're running the business side of the New York Jets the way we have done in years past,'' Johnson said. ``If a potential downturn in the market affects our business, then we'll have to make those adjustments.''

The NFL will remain strong, Johnson said.

``It's like cable television or the movies,'' Johnson said. ``People tend to hold onto activities and assets like that, particularly when the economy is going down.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Aaron Kuriloff in New York at akuriloff@bloomberg.net; Scott Soshnick in New York at ssoshnick@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 9, 2008 10:36 EDT