Bon Jovi won't be alone in the spotlight Thursday when
the rock band christens the $380 million
an arena officials hope will give a much-needed lift to this
violence-scarred city.
City officials hope the home of the New Jersey Devils will
attract commercial and retail development in the area and
build on an upward trend that began in 1997 with the opening
of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, three blocks away.
"When people started coming in, they saw that this was
the best performing arts facility in the region and they
began to see a new face of Newark," said Mayor Cory A.
Booker. "This is going to further encourage that as
they see a top-of-the-class arena.
The 19,500-seat arena is the New York area's first new
pro sports and concert venue in more than a quarter-century.
The last one was the arena at the Meadowlands sports complex
that opened in 1981.
The New Jersey Devils, who played at a Meadowlands arena for 25 years,
are the arena's chief tenants and will have their first
home game Saturday night. The arena will also be home to the
Seton Hall University men's basketball team and the
first-year New Jersey Ironmen of the Major Indoor Soccer League.
Bon Jovi, which hails from New Jersey, will get things
started with 10 concerts over the next two weeks, all of the
Bon Jovi Concerts
which are near-sellouts, according to arena officials.
In preparation for its opening, millions of dollars have been
spent on street resurfacing, new sidewalks, traffic signals
and streetlights and the demolition of several decaying
buildings nearby.
The Newark Police Department also created a new special
events division and plans to have as many as 60 officers
patrolling near the arena on event nights.
The city's first plans for a downtown arena were
presented in the fall of 1997.
The city paid $210 million for the arena, and the Devils paid
the rest. Last January, Prudential agreed to pay $105.3
million over 20 years for naming rights. Not everyone
considers the city's money well spent.
