Jan 5, 2007 8:08 pm US/Eastern
Devils Arena To Be Called Prudential Center
NEWARK (CBS/AP) ―
The new arena for the New Jersey Devils going up in downtown Newark will be called the Prudential Center, team owner Jeff Vanderbeek said Friday.
Officials from the hockey team and Prudential Financial Inc. will announce the details at a press conference on Monday.
Vanderbeek declined comment on the cost of the naming rights, but had said earlier the deal would have Prudential pay the Devils about $5 million annually. He said the contract is for 20 years.
A spokeswoman for Prudential declined to comment.
The $370 million arena is rising nearly across the street from the world headquarters of the life insurance and investment giant. Both are on Broad Street in downtown Newark.
"It's an awesome deal for both parties," Vanderbeek said. "As the chairman of the Devils, I couldn't be happier with the corporate partnership of Prudential."
He said negotiations have been going on for the last year and a half, but "got serious over the last month." He said the team had substantial conversations with four corporate sponsors.
The city of Newark contributed $210 million to the arena, which was initially expected to cost $310 million. The Devils are paying for cost overruns, Vanderbeek said.
The arena will seat 17,615 people for hockey games, 18,500 for basketball games and 19,000 for concerts, he said.
The Devils now play at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford. The NHL team shares the building with the New Jersey Nets, whose new owner is moving forward with plans to build an arena for the NBA team in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Prudential, which had profits of $2.25 billion for the first nine months of the year and $586 billion in assets under management as of Sept. 30, has long been a benefactor in Newark. The major space at the nearby New Jersey Performing Arts Center is called Prudential Hall for the company's contributions.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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