Meadowlands Arena

Meadowlands Arena

The Meadowlands
Location:	50 Route 120 East Rutherford, New Jersey 07073 United States [1]
Former names:	Brendan Byrne Arena (1981–1996) Continental Airlines Arena (1996–2007) Izod Center (2007–2015)
Owner:	New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
Operator:	New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
Capacity:	20,049 (NBA Basketball) 20,029 (NCAA Basketball) 19,040 (Hockey) 20,000 (Concerts) 7,500 (Theater concerts)
Construction information
Broke ground:	February 2, 1979
Opened:	July 2, 1981
Closed:	April 3, 2015
Construction cost:	$85 million
Tenants
New Jersey Nets (NBA) (1981–2010) New York Cosmos (NASL Indoor/MISL) (1981-1985) New Jersey Devils (NHL) (1982–2007) Seton Hall Pirates (NCAA) (1985–2007) New Jersey Red Dogs/Gladiators (AFL) (1997–2002) Fordham Rams (NCAA) (2011)
Floor design
New Jersey Nets (1998-2010)

Meadowlands Arena (formerly Brendan Byrne Arena, Continental Airlines Arena and Izod Center) is a closed indoor arena facility located in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The arena is located on New Jersey Route 120 across the highway from MetLife Stadium (as well as the former site of its predecessor, Giants Stadium) and the Meadowlands Racetrack, next to the American Dream shopping and entertainment complex.

The arena, which opened in 1981, was originally built to accommodate the New York/New Jersey Nets basketball team that relocated to New Jersey. The arena was originally named after then-Governor Brendan T. Byrne. In 1982, the Colorado Rockies hockey team joined the Nets in the new building and became known as the New Jersey Devils. The Nets and Devils were joined by the Seton Hall Pirates men's collegiate basketball program in 1985.

In 2007, the Prudential Center opened in nearby Newark, to where the Devils relocated. Seton Hall, whose campus in South Orange is closer to Newark than East Rutherford, followed and moved their basketball games there. The Nets remained at the Meadowlands for three more seasons before moving to Newark, where they played two seasons before departing New Jersey for Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The men's basketball team from Fordham University played four home games during the 2010–11 season at the arena.

Following the departure of all three of its major tenants, the arena continued to host occasional non-sporting events, such as touring shows and concerts, and other local events. The state-owned facility reported losses for 2013, and was projected to have $8.5 million in losses for 2015. On January 15, 2015, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) voted to shut down Izod Center, and have Prudential Center acquire hosting rights to events scheduled for the arena over the next two years in a $2 million deal.

Since closing, the vacant arena is used as a rehearsal venue for large-scale touring concert productions as well as a sound stage for video and television productions. Since 2018, NBC has leased the venue to film prime-time drama series, including The Enemy Within and Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector. It is also home to the crime drama series The Equalizer, starring Queen Latifah.

History

Construction on a new arena across Route 20 (now 120) from Giants Stadium and the Meadowlands Racetrack began in 1977. The arena was designed by Grad Partnership and Dilullo, Clauss, Ostroki & Partners and was constructed at a cost of $85 million. Originally named Brendan Byrne Arena (after Brendan Byrne, the sitting governor of the state, who was also a member of the ownership group seeking to bring an NHL team to the State), the arena opened July 2, 1981, with the first of six concerts by New Jersey rock musician Bruce Springsteen. This was followed by an ice show later that month. While the official name of the arena was "Brendan Byrne Arena," on television it was usually referred to as "The Meadowlands."

On October 30, 1981, the New Jersey Nets, who had played their previous four seasons at the Louis Brown Athletic Center at Rutgers University while the arena was being built, relocated to the Meadowlands and made their Brendan Byrne Arena debut, losing to the New York Knicks, 103–99. Later that season, on January 31, 1982, the NBA All-Star Game was hosted at the arena. Shortly after, the New Jersey Devils, relocated from Colorado, playing their first regular season game there on October 5, resulting in a 3–3 tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

On January 4, 1996, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority announced a naming rights deal with Continental Airlines (now United Airlines) under which the airline, with a hub at nearby Newark Liberty International Airport, would pay the NJSEA $29 million over 12 years. As Continental Airlines Arena, it hosted the 1996 Final Four—the last Final Four to date that has been held in an arena specifically built for basketball.

On May 5, 2007, the Devils played their last game at the arena, losing 3–2 to the Ottawa Senators, eliminating them from the Eastern Conference semifinals 4–1. Scott Gomez scored the final goal in the building. The Devils subsequently relocated to the newly constructed Prudential Center in nearby Newark, New Jersey at the beginning of the 2007–08 NHL season.

Following the Devils' final season at the arena in 2007, Continental Airlines opted out of the naming rights agreement. A new agreement was made with Izod, a company, to rename the arena Izod Center. The company will pay $1.4 million per annum for the first two years of the agreement, when the Nets left, it dropped to $750,000 per year for the balance of the five-year deal. The columns of the arena's exterior were also repainted red as the arena assumed a new color scheme.

On February 18, 2010, the Nets finalized a deal that would move them to the Prudential Center in Newark until the Barclays Center opens. On April 12, 2010 the Nets played their final game at the arena, a 105–95 loss to the Charlotte Bobcats, with Terrence Williams making the final basket scored on the court.

Shutdown

With the loss of its major tenants, the Izod Center served primarily as a venue for traveling events, such as concerts, ice shows, and other occasional local events such as graduation ceremonies. New Jersey's government considered possible options for the arena, including selling or leasing it to another operator, or closing it entirely. Triple Five Group had attempted to negotiate taking over the arena so it could be incorporated into the nearby American Dream Meadowlands complex, but the deal fell through. The arena reported losses for 2013, also facing competition from Barclays Center in landing major concerts, and it was estimated that the arena would lose $8.5 million over the course of 2015. Even with its use during Super Bowl XLVIII, Izod Center reported a $45,800 loss from the event.

On January 15, 2015, as urged by state governor Chris Christie, the NJSEA voted to close Izod Center. Under a two-year, $2 million agreement with Devils Arena Entertainment LLC, most future events scheduled for Izod Center were moved to Prudential Center. While the arena was originally expected to be shut down by the end of January, its final event was a Ringling Bros. circus event in March 2015. Under the terms of the agreement, the operators of Prudential Center were held responsible for staffing and logistics for shows held after January 31 but was entitled to receive the profits from such events.

On July 14, 2016, The Record reported that Devils Arena Entertainment had yet to pay the first $500,000 installment of its $2 million agreement with the NJSEA. On August 11, 2016, the NJSEA announced that it would allow musicians to book the arena for use as a rehearsal facility. Prudential Center president Hugh Weber noted that Coldplay had similarly done so prior to their tour stop at nearby MetLife Stadium, and that while Prudential Center has frequently seen similar bookings, there is a large backlog due to the venue's high traffic. The NJSEA and the Prudential Center will share the revenue generated by the rehearsals.

Seating capacity

Basketball

Years	Capacity
1981–1987	20,149
1987–1988	20,040
1988–2003	20,050
2003–2004	19,970
2004–2005	20,175
2005–2006	20,100
2006–2007	20,035
2007–2009	19,990
2009–2015	18,974

Arena usage

Sports

The arena has primarily served as a sports venue in its history. The arena was the home of the NBA's New Jersey Nets basketball franchise from 1981 to 2010. It was the home arena for the NHL's New Jersey Devils hockey franchise from 1982 to 2007 and the NCAA's Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball team from 1985 to 2007 as well as continuing to play host to various regular season men's college basketball, most recently on December 8, 2012 between Duke University and Temple University. The Fordham Rams have taken over the former Nets' locker room and now use the arena as their secondary home. Izod Center uses two separate floors for NBA and NCAA basketball- a standard hardwood floor for Nets and the arena's old parquet floor for regular season college basketball (since 2007, the NCAA has used a uniform floor for regional sites).

College basketball first arrived at the arena with the opening rounds of the 1984 NCAA basketball tournament. Seton Hall moved its Big East Conference men's basketball games to the arena for the 1985–1986 season, enhancing a tradition that would soon become rich. The arena hosted the NCAA Men's Final Four in 1996, the last traditional arena to do so to date. On eleven occasions (1986–91, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2004, 2007) the arena hosted the semifinals and finals of the tournament's East Regional. Only Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium, which hosted 13 regional finals from 1940 to 1952, has hosted more. It also hosted the 1982–1989 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and 1986 Atlantic Ten Conference men's basketball tournaments.

One of the most memorable moments in the venue's history came on January 22, 1987, when the "334 club" was formed. After New Jersey was hit with 20 inches of snow, only 334 fans attended the Devils' 7–5 victory over the Calgary Flames.

Other teams that have called the arena home include the New Jersey Rockets of the Major Indoor Soccer League, the New Jersey Rockin Rollers of Roller Hockey International, and the New Jersey Red Dogs / Gladiators of the Arena Football League. Two different National Lacrosse League teams have played at the arena – the New Jersey Saints from 1987 to 1988, and the New Jersey Storm from 2002 to 2003. The New York Cosmos also used the arena to host indoor soccer games.

On February 12, 2011, the arena hosted Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva. In November 2011, the Izod Center was the host of the final round of the TicketCity Legends Classic. The UFC on Fox 3 event took place at the arena on May 5, 2012.

Championships

Meadowlands Arena has played host to the 1995, 2000, 2001, and 2003 Stanley Cup Finals. The arena has seen the Devils clinch two of their three Stanley Cup championships before a home crowd, winning Game 4 of the 1995 Finals over the Detroit Red Wings and Game 7 of the 2003 Finals over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim; the Devils' other Stanley Cup win took place in Game 6 of the 2000 Finals over the Dallas Stars at Dallas' Reunion Arena. The Devils lost in the 2001 Finals in seven games to the Colorado Avalanche. The arena also was host to the Los Angeles Lakers winning an NBA Championship by sweeping the Nets on June 12, 2002, and again the next year, when the Nets lost in six games to the San Antonio Spurs. Izod Center is the most recent of five venues to host the Stanley Cup Finals and NBA Finals at the same time; the other four are Boston Garden, Madison Square Garden in New York, The Spectrum in Philadelphia and Chicago Stadium. Game 3 of the 1983-84 NASL Indoor Finals was played there on April 11, 1984 between the Cosmos and the San Diego Sockers. This also happened to be the last indoor game played in the North American Soccer League, as the league folded in early 1985. It was one of the busiest arenas in North America in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, playing host to numerous championship and neutral games.

The arena also hosted the NCAA Men's Final Four (basketball) in 1996, which was won by the University of Kentucky, and included Syracuse University, the University of Massachusetts, and Mississippi State University.

Other events

Fordham University's men's basketball team used the Izod Center as an alternate home court for four games in the 2010–11 season. However, attendance for the four games only averaged 1,799 people, lower than their regular home court average, and only a small fraction of Izod Center's capacity.

Other facilities

The center previously hosted a Continental Airlines ticketing office.

Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey

The Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey was established in 1988 to honor athletes, teams, events and contributors associated with the state of New Jersey. There is no physical site or structure for the hall, but its members are honored with plaques that are displayed at Izod Center.

Replacement

In 2021, plans were revealed to replace the Meadowlands Arena with a new convention center.

Public perception

Izod Center frequently is cited near the bottom of arena polls. It is commonly referred to as "cold and dull" in appearance, as well as being "cavernous". In a 2005 poll, USA Today rated it the worst arena in the NBA, with the distance of the inexpensive seats from the court, and the level of crowding in the concourse after the game cited as reasons.

Image gallery

Izod Center logo