NY Times article on Newark arena

[elperro]

Where the Devils Won't Get Their Due - VINCENT M. MALLOZZI, NY Times

Writer spends most of the article criticizing the move, on the grounds that the Devils fanbase isn't loyal enough to travel to games in Newark:

Despite winning 3 Stanley Cups in the last 11 seasons, the Devils have the misfortune of possessing one of the most disloyal fan bases in the history of sports. Are these same fair-weather Meadowlanders who regularly left thousands of seats empty during the best of Stanley Cup times now going to drive

[HellOnICE]

What a "Major League" a$$hole.

I hope a train rolls through his bedroom.

[Reverend_Hellh0und]

The article kinda reeks of racism.....

[HellOnICE]

What makes me so angry is the irresonisbility in this piece of "journalism"....He made no effort to contact fans, business who have season tickets, or Devils fans in general and ask their opinion. Why are they the most disloyal fans??? If anything, I think the Devil Die Hards are extremely loyal. He made no effort to look into what the Devils are trying to accomplish with the new building, etc.

[msweet]

Can you post the whole content of the article in this thread?

[Rock]

Here you go:

Where the Devils Won't Get Their Due

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/30/nyregion...30njCOLUMN.html

By VINCENT M. MALLOZZI

Published: April 30, 2006

I HAVE been following hockey long enough to know that everyone gets two minutes for interference, so I'll spend that time playing Devils' advocate where the team's questionable move to Newark is concerned.

By the start of the 2007-8 National Hockey League season, the New Jersey Devils, who now open their mail at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, will be working their shifts at a new $310-million building in Newark

Edited April 30, 2006 by Rock

[LizDevil30]

The only thing this guy got right is having the Nets as a co-tenant would've been great. What is up with their Brooklyn arena? Last I heard it is still highly contested and no word on when they can start building. The only thing Corzine would've been good for was buying the Nets and he couldn't pull that off. And he thinks he's going to "save" the state.

[brylin18]

the day after the rangers sweep, they write an opinion article like this.........this reeks of NYC bellyaching.

['7']

It's a perfectly valid argument, Newark is a frightening place and there may be Devils fans who are put off by traveling there. Sure the Meadowlands is the middle of nowhere, but at least it's a safe and familiar middle of nowhere.

[HellOnICE]

You can have a perfectly valid argument...I'll give you that, but the fact that heconducted no interviews, gave any shred of research, and failed to examine any iota of the plan, the Devils fanbase, their rate of wanting to move...whatever. he did nothing, exact sound like sour grapes.

[Triumph]

It's a perfectly valid argument, Newark is a frightening place and there may be Devils fans who are put off by traveling there. Sure the Meadowlands is the middle of nowhere, but at least it's a safe and familiar middle of nowhere.

The arena isn't going to be in the neighborhood where Tony Soprano did his HUD scam. Driving through Newark on McCarter Highway is not scary at all. The article reeks of ignorance and anecdotal evidence. Furthermore, Newark is trying to spur economic growth by building the arena - a spurious argument, no doubt, but it should bring some good business to the city.

The CAA is awful and in an awful location. The era of the sports arena or stadium as a convenient stop on some lifeless stretch of highway are mostly over - the only stadiums capable of such poor location are football stadiums, which actually benefit by being able to handle 80,000 fans.

['7']

I want the move just because it keeps the team in NJ...but I wouldn't be thrilled about going to any games.

I think he made the assumption, the Devils fan base is primarily white, middle to upper middle class, the majority clustered in Northern New Jersey suburban areas with the rest scattered about central and south jersey, as well as some spill over fans in NY. How many will make the trip to Newark when they're having a tough time drawing at CAA....honestly I don't know. Maybe they'll assuage their fears and Newark will be a big success, who knows?

[LizDevil30]

I believe Vanderbeek said the bulk of the fan base was in central Jersey, so Newark would be a much more accessible location for them. Bergen's Devil fan base is growing, but still has many rag fans.

[NewarkDevil5]

I'm not going to even dignify this article with a response. It is almost as insulting to Devils fans as it is to Newark.

['7']

The arena isn't going to be in the neighborhood where Tony Soprano did his HUD scam. Driving through Newark on McCarter Highway is not scary at all. The article reeks of ignorance and anecdotal evidence. Furthermore, Newark is trying to spur economic growth by building the arena - a spurious argument, no doubt, but it should bring some good business to the city.

The CAA is awful and in an awful location. The era of the sports arena or stadium as a convenient stop on some lifeless stretch of highway are mostly over - the only stadiums capable of such poor location are football stadiums, which actually benefit by being able to handle 80,000 fans.

well that's lost on me since I don't watch the show...but I think it's going to take alot of convincing since Newark has such a built up reputation for being trashy. There is no place in NJ that you can build this arena where it wouldn't be deemed an awful location. It probably fits best in some Bergen County suburb.

I believe Vanderbeek said the bulk of the fan base was in central Jersey, so Newark would be a much more accessible location for them. Bergen's Devil fan base is growing, but still has many rag fans.

I don't believe for a second that the bulk of the fan base is central jersey, the bergen, passaic, and morris suburbs are where most of the fans reside. true Bergen has alot of Ranger fans, but they were there when the Devils got here, they had a huge head start!

I know Vanderbeek has said most Devils fans are clustered ina ring around where the Newark arena would be....sounds kind of convenient, I just have a tough time believing it.

Edited April 30, 2006 by '7'

[MantaRay]

I go to more Ranger games than I do Devils games mainly because MSG is so much more accessible to me than CAA (plus Ranger tickets are always free).

I live 15 minutes away from CAA in Hoboken, but MSG is but a PATH stop away. Plus, at MSG I can meet people for dinner and/or drinks and have a night cap at afterwards--- which I can't do at CAA. Games within a city (I go to alot of Bruins games as well) makes it much more of an event than just driving to and from a game.

I have about $1,500 season ticket funds on account with the Devils for the past four years, but I am waiting for the move to Newark so I can just take the PATH to the game as well.

[Mitico12]

To be honest, ten years ago I would have agreed with this author. I knew very little about Newark, and thus had this feeling that Newark was a "Harlem-like" slum in the middle of New Jersey.

Having worked near Newark for the past nine years, and also making many friends in the community, has changed my mind. Newark is up an coming, and will take time...but it will happen!

I live in East Rutherford, so having the Devs move is definitely sad. These days I'm only two minutes away from the CAA (literally speaking), and so it's definitely great! But hey, Newark is only 12 minutes away from here, so that shouldn't be so bad...plus, RT. 21 is like a speedway, so that would help cut my travel time in half ;-)

Today's economics dictate the motives the Devils need a new building. The luxury suites will pretty much fund a good chunk of the Devils revenues, and a linked transportation system improves things a whole lot.

This author fails to point out a few things....

1. He didn't take the "pros" of moving to Newark...meaning fan feedback

2. He didn't suggest what "alternative locations" would be better. He's simply an airmchair author here...

3. He didn't do his homework...the NY/NJ Red Bulls will also build right across the way from the Newark Arena in Harrison. This certainly helps raise awareness to professional sports in the area, as well as help "boost" the economy in the Newark area...Red Bull Arena will compliment the Newark Arena quite well...

4. He didn't mention the NJPAC either. I'm sure the NJPAC has benefitted the community as well...

All in all, he's riling up the reader, but not being impartial. However, he did say let me play "Devils' Advocate"

[Jimmy Leeds]

I will go to many more games in Newark then at CAA.

Johnny MacLean in the '80's said the Devils Arena should have been in the Monmouth/Ocean County area.

'7' is obviously from up North, and is biased about where the "real" fans are from.

[Triumph]

well that's lost on me since I don't watch the show...but I think it's going to take alot of convincing since Newark has such a built up reputation for being trashy. There is no place in NJ that you can build this arena where it wouldn't be deemed an awful location. It probably fits best in some Bergen County suburb.

I don't believe for a second that the bulk of the fan base is central jersey, the bergen, passaic, and morris suburbs are where most of the fans reside. true Bergen has alot of Ranger fans, but they were there when the Devils got here, they had a huge head start!

I know Vanderbeek has said most Devils fans are clustered ina ring around where the Newark arena would be....sounds kind of convenient, I just have a tough time believing it.

Some Bergen County suburb? Come on - this is insane. Bergen County doesn't have a suitable site except for the Meadowlands. You want to eminent domain some suburban development for an arena? The days of the suburban arena are over, and Cleveland, New Jersey, and Washington's consistently poor attendance in suburban arenas are solid proof. You can't just build a parking lot and an arena and expect people to show up.

I get the sense from the board that Devils' loyalty is further south than you think. It's been pretty well shown that Bergen County can't draw out enough Devils fans, even though that arena is an abomination. Newark is a good locale because it is more central and more urban.

[NJD Jester]

It's a perfectly valid argument, Newark is a frightening place and there may be Devils fans who are put off by traveling there. Sure the Meadowlands is the middle of nowhere, but at least it's a safe and familiar middle of nowhere.

It's a pathetic argument. Look at DC -- put an arena in a rundown part of town, and watch as business flock to provide dinner, drinks and entertainment to the affluent fans coming 41 times a year. And then watch the cops clean that sh!t up like their jobs depended on it -- because they do.

Here are the parts I loathed the most from the column:

New Jersey Transit's light rail, a milelong link between Pennsylvania Station and Broad Street Station that will leave fans a short walk from the arena, will certainly make transportation easier, but Devils fans used to driving to games may not be too thrilled about having to take two trains to watch their team play.

Talk to any Devils fan who doesn't go to the games because they're paying out the ass for tickets to a stand-alone stadium that's a decade too old and then paying for parking and tolls on top of that. They're the ones coming on the train.

One need look no further than the Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium in Newark as an example of a promising sports facility that suffered in this sometimes dangerous city.

I stopped reading when we compared a professional hockey arena with a minor league baseball field.

<JESTER>

[Z-Man]

Madden's quote says it all about Newark.

http://njdevs.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4016

"I don't think a new arena will help," Madden said. "We have a season-ticket dinner every year and, speaking with the people at the table every year, they say if they put the team in Newark, they're not coming to games. Well, great. We've a got a new rink but less fans."

[aylbert]

I for one will increase attendance by at least 10-15 games a season, bringing 2-3 people with me to each game. So they can count on +20 to 45 more tickets sold from me. Possibly, either their first year at Newark, Ill hold season tickets... If not, defintely the year following.

Im sure there are others like me who will love to take the rails in. I already do that for MSG and love it.

Im sure there is a small minority of fans who will simply stop going because its 15 minutes away in "Newark". However, I think the majority of fans will make the move, and some will be sour about it at first. In the long run, this is a great move.

East Rutherford sucks, and its so depressing going to a hockey game and being left cold outside immediately after the game. There is NOTHING to do before or after, except sit in the parking lot.

At Game 4 verse the rags, I went to a deli before the game, and then went out to dinner at a cuban restaurant afterwards, dropping about $200 for lunch and dinner, on top of buying a program and a soda at the game... which was ontop the price I paid for the game.

Currently, the Devils would have received only the money for the game, not the revenue from concessions. The swamp doesnt have any place to eat before or after the game, so it doesnt realize my other $200. This is what Newark would gain.

Edited May 1, 2006 by aylbert

[Devils731]

Ya, the Devils probably did no research into a move to Newark and are now blindsided by the fact nobody wants to show up.

Or they've done more research than anyone and this is just a case of the squeaky wheel being heard the most.

Edit: aylbert really has the key point. The Devils will make a lot more money even if attendance stays the same due to making more revenue per fan(even with tickets staying the same) and through the extra luxury boxes.

Edited May 1, 2006 by Devils731

[Triumph]

Madden's quote says it all about Newark.

http://njdevs.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4016

Right, because as we all know, the best way to run a business is to make sure that only the people who are exposed to your product continue buying it.

CAA is a dump and East Rutherford is a terrible location. Putting another arena would just ensure the same attendance figures we've been seeing for the last 7 years.

[LizDevil30]

Madden's quote says it all about Newark.

http://njdevs.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4016

QUOTE

"I don't think a new arena will help," Madden said. "We have a season-ticket dinner every year and, speaking with the people at the table every year, they say if they put the team in Newark, they're not coming to games. Well, great. We've a got a new rink but less fans."

That's the Bergen County season ticket holders complaining. Newark will bring in new season ticket holders. CAA has been proven to be a bust for the Devils. Newark cannot be any worse.