Oct 25, 2007 6:56 am US/Eastern
At Long Last, 'The Rock' Opens
Home To The Devils Will See First NHL Action Saturday
NEWARK (AP) ―
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The Devils' new arena, The Prudential Center, opens Thursday but will see its first NHL action when the Ottawa Senators come to town.
AP
The opening of its glistening, $380 million arena only hours away, the city of Newark began a new chapter in its history Thursday.
In anticipation of traffic gridlock, commuters and concert fans were encouraged to leave their cars at home and take the train. Police planned extra patrols to assure visitors that New Jersey's largest city was safe.
The downtown arena, called The Prudential Center and nicknamed "The Rock," is the first pro sports venue to open in the New York region in 26 years.
City officials hope the arena, home of the New Jersey Devils hockey team, will promote prosperity and help change the city's image, an image tarnished by violent crime, poverty and high unemployment.
Thursday's festivities are to begin around noon with Mayor Cory A. Booker, who has pledged to revitalize the city, presiding over a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The evening will feature the first in a series of 10 concerts by New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi. And after playing their first nine games on the road, the Devils will skate on their new home ice Saturday night against the Ottawa Senators.
By transit or car, arena patrons will see police officers on foot, motorcycle and horse at nearby street corners and along the route from the Broad Street Station.
Those who walk the 21/2 blocks from Newark Penn Station will find improved lighting as well as dozens of yellow-jacketed NJ Transit employees to direct pedestrian traffic.
Officers at major intersections will use remote-control devices to change traffic lights to help keep cars moving.
The Devils, the Seton Hall men's basketball team and the New Jersey Ironmen indoor soccer team will call "The Rock" home. The men's and women's basketball teams from the New Jersey Institute of Technology also will play several home games at the arena this season.
It will seat 17,615 people for hockey, 19,000 for concerts and 18,500 for basketball.
Devils chairman and owner Jeff Vanderbeek said the arena's final cost won't be calculated until months after the opening, but he estimated it at between $377 million and $381 million.
The city is funding $210 million and the Devils are paying the rest.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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