Prudential Center
The Rock | |
Location of Prudential Center near New York City Location in New Jersey | |
Address | 25 Lafayette Street |
---|---|
Location | Newark, New Jersey |
Coordinates | 40°44′1″N 74°10′16″W / 40.73361°N 74.17111°W |
Public transit | Newark Penn Station
NWHL) (2016–2019, 2021) |
Website | |
www |
Prudential Center is a multipurpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey, United States. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball team. By 2023, it was among the top five concert venues worldwide by earnings.[10][11] The arena is owned by Josh Harris and David Blitzer and operated through Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment.
Background
Fans and sports writers have nicknamed the arena "The Rock"[12] in reference to the Rock of Gibraltar, the corporate logo of Prudential Financial, a financial institution that owns the naming rights to the arena and is headquartered within walking distance of it. In December 2013, the arena ranked third nationally and ninth internationally for self-reported annual revenue.[13]
At the time of its opening, Prudential Center was the first major league sports venue to be built in the New York metropolitan area since the Meadowlands Arena, the Devils' former home, opened in 1981. The arena was designed by Populous and Morris Adjmi Architects. It is owned by Josh Harris and David Blitzer of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE) and is operated by Devils Arena Entertainment, an HBSE subsidiary.
Arena usage
Professional hockey
The Prudential Center primarily serves as the home arena for the
The Devils' first playoff series-clinching win at the arena was on May 25, 2012, when they defeated the rival New York Rangers 3–2 in overtime on a goal by Adam Henrique to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.[14] Games 1, 2, and 5 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals were played at the arena.
Professional basketball
The Prudential Center was originally intended to also be the home of the
On April 23, 2012, the Nets played their final game at the Prudential Center. The Nets relocated to the Barclays Center to become the
The New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) played home games at Prudential Center during the 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons, due to renovations at Madison Square Garden.[18]
Concerts and live productions
The venue has hosted the MTV Video Music Awards a number of times in recent years. It has additionally hosted concerts for acts such as Celine Dion, Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish, Marc Anthony, My Chemical Romance, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Elton John, Justin Bieber, Dua Lipa, The Weeknd, Daddy Yankee, and Tool.[19][20][21] In 2017, Billboard named Prudential Center "the East Coast home of K-pop" as the venue has hosted numerous K-pop concerts for acts such as BTS, NCT, Blackpink, and Stray Kids, as well as KCON conventions.[22][23][24][25][26][27]
Sources give maximum capacity for concerts as 19,500, although the venue's website itself currently lists capacity as the following: Center Stage: 16,755; End Stage: 16,659; Half House Theater: 7,777; Lower Bowl Half House: 4,094; Cocktail Reception: 2,500; Banquet: 1,000; and Theatre Style: 2,000.
Mixed martial arts
The arena has held a series of UFC events. The first was held on November 17, 2007, when the arena hosted the UFC's hundredth event for UFC 78: Validation.[28] On March 27, 2010, the arena held UFC 111: St-Pierre vs. Hardy.[29] On March 19, 2011, the arena held UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones.[30] On April 27, 2013, the arena held UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen.[31] On February 1, 2014, the arena held UFC 169: Barão vs. Faber 2.[32] On April 18, 2015, the arena held UFC on Fox: Machida vs. Rockhold.[33] On January 30, 2016, the arena held UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Bader.[34] On August 3, 2019, the arena held UFC on ESPN: Covington vs. Lawler.[35] On May 6, 2023, the arena held UFC 288: Sterling vs. Cejudo.[36] UFC 302 will be hosted at the arena on June 1, 2024.[37]
Features
Design
The red and gray exterior is inspired by Newark's bricklaying and railroad heritage.
The interior's lower level concourse provides views of downtown Newark on the Edison Place and Mulberry Street sides through large windows. Prudential Center features separate concourses for the lower and upper levels, whereas the Continental Airlines Arena had one concourse for both levels of the arena. Throughout the lower concourse, jerseys of most high school hockey teams in New Jersey hang from the walls. The arena also features many murals of players and memorable moments from Devils history. One 6,000-square-foot (560 m2) mural[42] encompasses a long stretch of the lower concourse wall and features Devils Martin Brodeur, Scott Stevens, and Ken Daneyko, along with tributes to other New Jersey sports and Newark landmarks, with depictions that include Seton Hall men's basketball legends Richie Regan and Terry Dehere, soccer player Tony Meola, a boxer, and tennis legend Althea Gibson.
Amenities and facilities
As one of the newer facilities to be used in the
On the north, Edison Place side of the arena, at street level, are the ticket office and the Devils' 2,600 square foot (242 m2) Team Store, along with Championship Plaza, a public meeting place that celebrates the Devils' past and present successes on the ice.
The Grammy Museum Experience, a museum celebrating the Grammy Awards, was held at the center from October 20, 2017, to June 25, 2023.[45][46][47][48]
Practice rink
The Devils' practice rink, the RWJ Barnabas Health Hockey House (formerly
Championship Plaza and environs
Championship Plaza was opened on October 3, 2009. The public square celebrating the Devils' history is opposite the arena on Mulberry Street between Edison Place and Market Street. The most prominent piece of the plaza is the 22-foot (6.7 m) tall, 7,000-pound (3,200 kg) stainless steel hockey player statue. The Rock, part of Prudential's logo inspired by the Rock of Gibraltar, was also installed in the plaza. Devil fans were able purchase a limited amount of bricks that would be placed in and around the plaza with personalized messages inscribed.
On the opposite end of the arena, a statue of former Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur was dedicated outside of the Lafayette Street entrance tower and practice rink on October 22, 2016.[50]
Much like the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the Prudential Center was expected to boost Newark's urban renaissance. Small-scale projects in the immediate vicinity of the arena around Four Corners have led to the construction of new hotels,[51][52][53] loft conversions,[54] and a restaurant row.[55] The development of Mulberry Commons, a city square originally proposed as the centerpiece of a commercial and residential complex near the arena, stagnated for a decade.[56][57] Construction began in October 2017,[58] and park opened after 15 years of delay on May 30, 2019.[59]
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Iceman statue
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Martin Brodeur
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The Rock
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Mulberry Commons
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Mural
History
Planning
For years, the
The arena was built amidst financial concerns and years of speculation that the Devils would relocate, despite the fact that the team was a perennial playoff contender and had been at or near the top of the NHL's standings for over a decade.
A project to build a new 18,000-seat arena in Newark first received funding from Newark's city council in 2002, when the team was owned by Puck Holdings, a subsidiary of
Construction and funding
A 7-acre (2.8 ha) site
Though construction was well underway, in late summer 2006, Cory Booker, who had recently taken office as Mayor of Newark, promised to reevaluate the deal and considered backing out.[64][65] In October, Booker conceded there would be "a first-class arena built in the city of Newark, whether we like it or not",[66] and soon afterwards, the Devils struck a deal including both property and monetary givebacks that appeased city officials.[67]
The city of Newark pledged to contribute $210 million to the construction of the arena, using settlement money from its lease dispute over underpaid rent for use of Newark Liberty International Airport with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The Devils paid for the remainder of the cost. Thus, no new direct taxpayer funding was required for the construction of the arena.[68] Some taxpayer dollars, however, were spent on infrastructure improvements. These improvements were necessary for both the new arena and proposed private development surrounding that arena.
Prudential Financial purchased the naming rights to the stadium in January 2007 for $105.3 million over 20 years, reducing the city's cost for the project. The arena had been referred to as "Newark Arena" before the deal. In addition to its formal name, Prudential Center was immediately nicknamed "The Rock" after Prudential's corporate logo.[12]
Construction on the arena was completed in October 2007.[69][70] The estimated final cost of the arena's construction is $380 million.[6][71] In total, more than 18,000 tons of steel were used to build the bowl area and high roof, while 62,000 linear feet of ductwork were installed throughout the arena.[42] The Devils had to play their first nine games of the 2007–08 NHL season on the road as construction on their home arena was finished.
Opening
For the soft opening on October 20, the Newark Boys Chorus performed at Prudential Center, which became the first use of the arena. It officially opened on October 25, 2007, with a series of 10 concerts by the New Jersey native rock group Bon Jovi, featuring a star-studded lineup of opening acts including Big & Rich, Gretchen Wilson, Daughtry, The All-American Rejects and fellow New Jersey native group My Chemical Romance.[72]
The Devils played their first home game at Prudential Center on October 27, 2007, against the Ottawa Senators, who, coincidentally, were the Devils' last opponent at Continental Airlines Arena.[73] Chris Neil scored the arena's first goal, while Brian Gionta scored the Devils' first goal in the arena. Martin Gerber earned the first win as the Senators defeated the Devils 4–1.
On November 11, 2007, the first collegiate basketball game took place in the arena, with
Lighting incidents
On January 8, 2010, a lighting problem occurred in the arena during a game between the Devils and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa Bay was leading 3–0 with 9:12 left in the second period when half of the arena's sports lights went out due to a power surge on the grid feeding electricity to the arena, followed by a computerized lighting system failing to reboot. PSEG and Prudential Center electricians worked on the situation for 1 hour and 52 minutes but could not reboot the system. The game was suspended due to the lighting problem;[74] it was resumed two nights later, with about 3,000 of the original crowd of 15,129 in attendance.[75] Tampa Bay won, 4–2, with Lightning center Steven Stamkos scoring two goals in the contest: one on Friday and one on Sunday.[76]
Before a preseason game between the Devils and the New York Islanders, on October 7, 2021, the lights in the northeast corner of the arena could not be turned on due to a power outage. After a lengthy delay, the game was canceled.[77]
Location and accessibility
Prudential Center, like its three major counterparts in the New York metropolitan area—
The arena is just west of
The arena was built in the vicinity of what was once
See also
- New Jersey music venues by capacity
- proposed skyscraperin the 1980s planned for this site
- Red Bull Arena, a soccer stadium in the Newark suburb of Harrison, New Jersey for the New York Red Bulls soccer team, opened in March 2010.
- Sports in Newark, New Jersey
- List of NCAA Division I basketball arenas
- North to Shore Festival
- Chinatown, Newark, New Jersey
- QXT's Nightclub
- Mulberry Commons
- Culture of Newark, New Jersey
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