Anyone else miss the Meadowlands?

[NJDevs4978]

Not at all...the drive is better in and out of Newark (and having mass transit as an option helps others), the arena's better, time marches on.  Of course I've already been to like ten times more games at the Rock than I ever was at the Meadowlands which also helps the feeling of home.

[NJDevs4978]

On 12/9/2017 at 5:52 PM, RunninWithTheDevil said:

I feel the exact opposite.  I live equidistant from both and it was always HELL getting home from CAA

Yeah having to circle around the entire complex in a crawl and taking nearly a half hour to get out was no picnic.  Of course if you park directly across the street from the Rock THAT lot can be a pita too, me and a friend did it the night of the ill-fated Florda playoff game, but I park at a lot where it's much easier to get out now, so are most of the adjacent lots - it's only the one directly across that's bad cause it's such a huge lot with few exits onto the street it's impossible to get out of when everyone exits at the same time.

Quote

What was everyone's last event at the CAA/Izod center before it closed? I went to WWE Extreme Rules to watch Daniel Bryan's first (and only) televised WWE defense with my friend. It was a good time.

One of the Devils-Ottawa playoff games in their last year, don't think it was Game 5.  But I never had any reason to go back to the arena itself again.  I have been to the Meadowlands itself for a handful of Jet games (only one or two at the new MetLife that looks like an air conditioner from the outside) and a Springsteen concert.

Edited December 16, 2017 by NJDevs4978

['7']

14 hours ago, mfitz804 said:

Now I have to tell my Holik story again. 

Back in the day I worked in the Short Hills Mall, and we got Devils players pretty often. I waited on Brodeur, Daneyko, Gomez, etc. One regular customer was Bobby Holik. 

He had just gone free agent, and rumor had him going to the Rangers. So I say to him, I understand this is your chance to sign a contract for a ton of money, I understand if you have to leave. But don’t sign with the Rangers. If you sign with the Rangers, you aren’t allowed back in the store. He laughed, I laughed, my manager who was also a big hockey fan laughed. 

Of course, we know what happened. Fast forward to the Fall, and who comes back into my store, Bobby Holik. So what do I do? I tell him he has to leave. He starts laughing. I told him I wasn’t kidding. My manager was confused. I refused to wait on him. My manager, of course, already knew I was nuts. Now Bobby knew it too. 

End result is, my manager waited on him, and I stayed in the stockroom until he left. Then I called my manager a traitor for waiting in a Ranger.

I never saw Bobby again after that, but he continued to shop there. 

That's amazing you pulled that off without being fired. Stood your ground though!

 

[mfitz804]

32 minutes ago, '7' said:

That's amazing you pulled that off without being fired. Stood your ground though!

 

My manager was my best friend. I knew my job was safe.

[Since1982-83]

Yo guys? You're coming into NJ across the GW...your best and most direct route to the PC is..?

Edited December 17, 2017 by Since1982-83

[Daniel]

15 minutes ago, Since1982-83 said:

Yo guys? You're coming into NJ across the GW...your best and most direct route to the PC is..?

Really, just use Waze, or download it if you don’t have it.  It gets you wherever you’re going in the quickest way possible.p and avoids traffic.

[thelastonealive]

Last events I went to at the old arena were a Coldplay concert and some WWE PPV (No Way Out? One of the less interesting ones. I think a steel cage match was the main event).

Those are the only two times I was back after the Devils moved. Was at that last game there against the Sens and remember thinking how much I'd rather have been across the lot at the music festival going on at the time, because we just were so outclassed in that series.

[JSR]

I certainly miss it, living literally 10 minutes away in Little Ferry. Easy peasy to get there at pretty much a moment's notice. Last event also was WWE Extreme Rules, Daniel Bryan's only world title PPV defense.

[DevilMinder]

 

Quote

 

@darrenrovell

Apollo Global Management, co-founded by 76ers & Devils owner Josh Harris, has bought Qdoba for $305 million.

Firm also owns Chuck E. Cheese.

 

 

 

Maybe we can get a Qdoba in the rock now?

[eaglejelly]

14 minutes ago, DevilMinder said:

 

 

 

Maybe we can get a Qdoba in the rock now?

Or Chuck E. Cheese

[DevilMinder]

4 minutes ago, eaglejelly said:

Or Chuck E. Cheese

Good point ...good point.

 

I think I am going to buy some of this stock, they own some big companies, rackspace, Caesars casinos

[mfitz804]

Qdoba would be upscale compared to the present food offerings at The Rock. 

Chuck E. Cheese might be also. 

[Satans Hockey]

1 hour ago, DevilMinder said:

 

 

 

Maybe we can get a Qdoba in the rock now?

They could put one in that empty building thats next to the parking deck, it use to be a burger place and it's been empty for years now. 

That place where Joe's crab shack was has been empty for quite some time too now. 

Edited December 19, 2017 by Satans Hockey

[DevsMan84]

Qdoba is alright (far better than the sh!t Chipotle serves) but hate the name.  Always makes me think of Cordoba.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

45 minutes ago, Satans Hockey said:

They could put one in that empty building thats next to the parking deck, it use to be a burger place and it's been empty for years now. 

That place where Joe's crab shack was has been empty for quite some time too now. 

Is that the former Arena Bar?  Went there twice and they had the puniest non-meatiest wings ever.  Kind of surprised no one has attempted to make a go of it there, but the fact that no one has probably speaks volumes.

[Satans Hockey]

6 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Is that the former Arena Bar?  Went there twice and they had the puniest non-meatiest wings ever.  Kind of surprised no one has attempted to make a go of it there, but the fact that no one has probably speaks volumes.

Nope this place was literally next to the vip parking deck, had to look it up but it was called Uber burger, it was a split restarant with a coffee place... 

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2011/07/10/nyregion/at-uber-burger-in-prudential-center-beef-with-pucks-on-side.html

Edited December 19, 2017 by Satans Hockey

[Daniel]

1 minute ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Is that the former Arena Bar?  Went there twice and they had the puniest non-meatiest wings ever.  Kind of surprised no one has attempted to make a go of it there, but the fact that no one has probably speaks volumes.

Here's an article about the Arena Bar losing its liquor license because of a shooting that took place near it.

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2014/05/property_owners_sue_newark_for_alleged_link_between_fatal_shooting_and_restaurant.html

I don't know enough about how liquor licenses work to know how easy it would be for someone that wanted to move into the space to get one, beyond the fact that liquor licenses in NJ are very expensive. 

But with so many good options right next to the arena, I don't see how anything could really work there.

[DevsMan84]

I remember Uber Burger.  It was decent but didn't stand out and sharing the space with a not-so-good coffee place didn't help.

I have only been to Arena Bar once.  I wasn't impressed by any means.  Plus I think that place went under due to a lawsuit over a murder that happened on the sidewalk right in front of the bar.

[DevsMan84]

1 minute ago, Daniel said:

Here's an article about the Arena Bar losing its liquor license because of a shooting that took place near it.

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2014/05/property_owners_sue_newark_for_alleged_link_between_fatal_shooting_and_restaurant.html

I don't know enough about how liquor licenses work to know how easy it would be for someone that wanted to move into the space to get one, beyond the fact that liquor licenses in NJ are very expensive. 

But with so many good options right next to the arena, I don't see how anything could really work there.

Spaces or restaurants?  I am to the point where I pretty much gave up on the restaurants right near the arena.  Last month I ordered a Chicken Marsala from Edison Ale House and what I got was chicken with a very light brown sauce that was very salty and almost no marsala in it.  It tasted like I ordered Chinese food.

Also weren't there rumors that TGIF or Houlihan's were looking at the old BCBG space?  I guess that didn't materialize or the rumors were just BS.

[Daniel]

2 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

Spaces or restaurants?  I am to the point where I pretty much gave up on the restaurants right near the arena.  Last month I ordered a Chicken Marsala from Edison Ale House and what I got was chicken with a very light brown sauce that was very salty and almost no marsala in it.  It tasted like I ordered Chinese food.

Also weren't there rumors that TGIF or Houlihan's were looking at the old BCBG space?  I guess that didn't materialize or the rumors were just BS.

I like Edison Ale House, and that's now my pregame spot.  The pizza and pretzel sticks are good.  I tend to stay away from more traditional entrees at places like that. 

Before that I would go to Dinosaur, which has reasonably priced beers and good food. 

When Prudential first opened, my spot was actually the Arena Bar, but really only for beers.  At the time, my brother had season tickets in the Ice Lounge, so I didn't worry about food prior to games.  I tend to stick with macro beers when I'm going to a sporting event, so the price was right and the place was sanitary enough.  But like I said, it would take something really unique for me to go back to whatever might pop up where the Arena Bar used to be.

It's really disappointing though that Barcade didn't open up closer to the arena.  I still have no idea why.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

I've been to the place right in Championship Plaza a few times (blanking on the name)...that was pretty good.  I usually don't stick around for food and drink though...usually make a bee-line right for my car. 

Didn't know about all of that, re:  the Arena Bar.  Yikes.

[pattyelias]

On 12/19/2017 at 3:01 PM, Daniel said:

Here's an article about the Arena Bar losing its liquor license because of a shooting that took place near it.

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2014/05/property_owners_sue_newark_for_alleged_link_between_fatal_shooting_and_restaurant.html

I don't know enough about how liquor licenses work to know how easy it would be for someone that wanted to move into the space to get one, beyond the fact that liquor licenses in NJ are very expensive. 

But with so many good options right next to the arena, I don't see how anything could really work there.

Tons of people park on the south side of the arena.   Arena bar was always pretty busy back in the day.    Hell's Kitchen too and that place is nowhere near as close to the arena.