The Izod Center
(formerly Brendan Byrne Arena
, and later, Continental Airlines Arena
) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It is home to the New Jersey Nets NBA basketball team, and was also the home of the New Jersey Devils NHL hockey. Official seating capacity as of 2004 is 19,040 for hockey; 20,029 for college basketball; 20,049 for NBA games; and a maximum 20,000 for concerts. The arena attracts spectators and fans from New Jersey and the entire New York Metropolitan Area.
The Nets will be leaving the arena upon completion of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, scheduled to open in 2010.
The Izod Center will host auditions for the eighth season of American Idol
on August 19, 2008. [1]
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IZOD CENTER (FORMERLY CONTINENTAL AIRLINES ARENA) TICKETS
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History
Construction on a new arena across
New Jersey State Highway 20 (now 120) from
Giants Stadium and the
Meadowlands Racetrack began in 1977. Originally named
Brendan Byrne Arena
(after 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. Although named after Byrne, many people and some tickets and press releases simply referred (and still refer) to it as
Meadowlands Arena
.
On
October 30 1981, the Nets, who had played their previous four seasons at the
Louis Brown Athletic Center at
Rutgers University, made their debut at the arena, losing to the
New York Knicks, 103-99. Later that season, on
January 31 1982, the
NBA All-Star Game was played at the arena.
The
New Jersey Devils played their first ever regular season game here on
October 5 1982, resulting in a 3-3 tie with the
Pittsburgh Penguins.
College basketball 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 as of 2007. 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 1940-52, has hosted more.
[2] It also hosted the 1982-1989
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and 1986
Atlantic Ten Conference men's basketball tournaments.
Other teams that have called the arena home include the New Jersey Rockets of the
Major 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 1987-1988, and the
New Jersey Storm from 2002-2003. The New York Cosmos also used the arena to host indoor soccer games.
The venue also hosted
WWF SummerSlam in
1989,
1997 and
2007, as well as the
King of the Ring tournament in 2001 and
No Mercy 2004 The arena has also hosted several episodes of
WWE RAW, as well as
SmackDown!.
It was also the scene of one of
Ric Flair's NWA World Heavyweight title vicories on
January 11 1991, as Flair beat
Sting in front of a mostly empty arena due to a blizzard. The win was Flair's eighth world championship title win.
In 2008, heavy metal legends
Iron Maiden played at the venue on the
Somewhere Back In Time World Tour.
Van Halen played the venue on March 13.
Concerts
The arena has been a popular site for concerts, due to it having been designed with
acoustics in mind and to it having a lesser facility fee for artists than competing venues, such as
Madison Square Garden. Bruce Springsteen remains the most popular concert act to perform in the Arena; his appearances have included a 10-night, sold-out run in 1984, an 11-night run in 1992, and a 15-night, sold-out run in 1999. This last feat is commemorated by a large banner hanging from the rafters, next to the banners representing the achievements of the resident sports teams. A 1999 concert by
Dave Matthews Band was recorded for a PBS special, and subsequently released as a concert album and DVD under the name
Listener Supported. Portions of the
Rolling Stones 1983 concert film, Let's Spend the Night Together, were
filmed at the arena.
[3] The concert footage was filmed in the fall of 1981.
Championships
The arena has seen the Devils clinch two
Stanley Cup championships before a home crowd. The franchise won its first Cup on
June 24,
1995, and then clinched its third title in nine years on
June 9 2003. The arena also was host to the
Los Angeles Lakers winning an NBA Championship by sweeping the Nets on
June 12 2002 [4], and the
Anaheim Bullfrogs winning the 1997 Murphy Cup, the championship of
Roller Hockey International, over the New Jersey Rockin' Rollers.
SummerSlam was held here live on
August 26, 2007. 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.
Licensing rights to name
On
January 4 1996, the
New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority announced a naming rights deal with
Continental Airlines under which the airline, with a hub at nearby
Newark Liberty International Airport, would pay the NJSEA $29 million over 12 years. Many thought this was a political move, since
Brendan Byrne is a
Democrat and the governor at the time of the deal was
Christine Todd Whitman, a
Republican.
[5] The former governor's son,
Tom Byrne, was the state Democratic Party chairman at the time, and publicly voiced his displeasure. The senior Byrne was not upset about it: "I was immortal for 15 years," he said at the time.
The name change to Continental Airlines Arena also caused controversy in April of that year, when the arena hosted the
NCAA Final Four. During the CBS coverage of the event, Continental signage was not shown on camera, and the arena was simply referred to as "The Meadowlands". CBS and the NCAA already had airline sponsors for the event before Continental's naming rights deal.
Following the Devils' final season at the arena in 2007, Continental Airlines opted out of the naming rights agreement. The arena's new name is now the
Izod Center
, which took effect as of
October 31 2007, at the Nets' season opener against
Chicago. The company will pay $1.4 million per annum for the first two years of the agreement, while the Nets are still tenants, which will drop to $750,000 per year for the balance of the five-year deal.
[6]
As early as
October 18, 2007 - two weeks before the new name was scheduled to be official - two signs began appearing on the basketball court bearing the Izod Center name. The occasion was made up of three exhibition games against the
New York Knicks,
Boston Celtics and
Philadelphia 76ers.
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".
[7] Recently,
USA Today rated it the worst NBA and NHL arena. This has played a role in the Nets' plans and the Devils' vacating the arena.
In an attempt to remain on par with the features of most modern arenas, circular
LED rings were installed on the facing of the upper level in 2005.
The arena has also been criticized for funneling both levels of the arena into one, crowded
concourse.
Hockey players and fans alike acknowledged the poor ice quality of Izod Center, which was common of many hockey arenas used for other sports. The difficulty arose when converting the playing surface from wood to ice, sometimes for two professional sporting events on the same day.
On the other hand, the arena is generally well-regarded for concerts, with its good sightlines and relatively good acoustics; the cavernous nature here can add to the drama of a top show. Perhaps for this reason, the
Red Hot Chili Peppers chose the Izod Center as the venue to film their video "
Snow ((Hey Oh))", including shots of the stairwells and tunnels of the stadium.
Future in doubt and Xanadu
Plans have been unveiled to downscale the arena in conjunction with several developments, including the
Barclays Center in Brooklyn, which will be home to the Nets, the
Prudential Center in Newark for the Devils and
Seton Hall, a new stadium for the Jets and Giants called
New Meadowlands Stadium, and the creation of a new alternative entertainment and shopping center,
Xanadu on the Meadowlands grounds. The relocations of the tenant sports franchises, as well as Xanadu's current construction while the arena is still in use, leave the arena's future in doubt.
Gallery
References
- http://www.americanidol.com/news/view/?pid=1367
- OFFICIAL 2007 NCAA MEN'S FINAL FOUR RECORDS BOOK
- Let's Spend the Night Together (1983)
- http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_2002.html
- Sandomir, Richard. "HOCKEY;Brendan Byrne Arena Goes Continental", ''The New York Times'', January 5 1996. Accessed October 19 2007. "For nearly 15 years, it was officially the Brendan Byrne Arena. But that political homage to the former Democratic governor was covered forever today by a banner heralding the benefactor paying $29 million through 2007 as title sponsor of the arena: Continental Airlines.... This is not politically motivated," said Michael Francis, chairman of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which runs the complex, during a news conference at the arena's center court. "If a Republican's name had been on it, it would have come down. There's nothing personal. This was based solely on economics.""
- "Fashionable New Name for Arena", ''The New York Times'', October 5, 2007. Accessed October 11 2007. "On Oct. 31, when the Nets open their season against the Chicago Bulls, the Meadowlands arena named for Continental Airlines for 12 years will be rechristened the Izod Center. Izod will pay $1.4 million a year in cash for the first two years of the five-year agreement, which will be cut to $750,000 annually in 2009 when the Nets are expected to move to Brooklyn."
- USATODAY.com - Nets look for gains when it comes to ticketholders