RIP Goal Bar

[DevsMan84]

Since the appropriate place to put this topic is a virtual graveyard (ha!), I figured I would post this here.

Found this on reddit.  Looks like the Goal Bar is being replaced by The Lofts

https://www.prucenter.com/premium/the-loft

[Satans Hockey]

Looks way nicer than the goal bar. 

[DevsMan84]

1 minute ago, Satans Hockey said:

Looks way nicer than the goal bar. 

The goal bar has always looked half-finished to me.  I think the finished product was not even close to what the original vision was.  The seats were great but other than that and having your own private (cash) bar and bathroom, there was no much else that was better than any lower level tickets.

These look to be entry-level suites which is probably what the objective is.

[NJDfan1711]

That looks pretty badass actually. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

18 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

The goal bar has always looked half-finished to me.  I think the finished product was not even close to what the original vision was.  The seats were great but other than that and having your own private (cash) bar and bathroom, there was no much else that was better than any lower level tickets.

These look to be entry-level suites which is probably what the objective is.

That's a great description of it. 

Obviously the general newness of the building (especially compared to the CAA) was enough to wow us all initially, but the new owners have done a nice job improving the areas where (early on) dollars were clearly saved and some corners had been cut.  If we could all go back in time to 2007, we'd see just how far The Rock has come. 

Now about those bathrooms...

[mfitz804]

I'd settle for some better concessions. I wish they could go the way of baseball stadiums, would be col to have Shake Shack, Blue Smoke or similar places in the arena rather than the horrific food offerings they have right now. Its basically chicken fingers and fries or something that makes you want to hurl. 

[DevsMan84]

3 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

I'd settle for some better concessions. I wish they could go the way of baseball stadiums, would be col to have Shake Shack, Blue Smoke or similar places in the arena rather than the horrific food offerings they have right now. Its basically chicken fingers and fries or something that makes you want to hurl. 

It is still better than what was in there right before Legends took over.  The original concession vendor was Centerplate but they left amid a dispute (one of many) against JVB for non-payment and so they went to Aramark for a couple of year before Legends came in.  Aramark was beyond horrendous from what I remember.

When the area first opened, the what is now Goya stand was a Taste of Newark stand with local businesses running a booth in there.  There were about 4-6 of them in there including Jimmy Buff's.  However those left due to yet another dispute with JVB over money.

[DevsMan84]

9 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

That's a great description of it. 

Obviously the general newness of the building (especially compared to the CAA) was enough to wow us all initially, but the new owners have done a nice job improving the areas where (early on) dollars were clearly saved and some corners had been cut.  If we could all go back in time to 2007, we'd see just how far The Rock has come. 

Now about those bathrooms...

Yeah the goal bar always seemed to be very underutilized.  Someone on FB said that the Loft more or less was the original vision for that space when the arena open, but due to time (the arena was running behind schedule when it opened) and money (I don't need to go any more into that), it never came to fruition.  Now, the new owners have decided to focus on this and fix it.

And yeah those bathrooms really need a complete makeover at this point.  However, you know if that involves removing the black and red tiles along with replacing the Devils-etched fixtures that the typical loud portion of our fanbase will be howling that the owners are further "de-Deviling" the arena.

[NJDevils1214]

This looks awesome. Has an old time bar kind of feel to it. Off topic: Were any of you guys at the game against the Bruins where they announced the starting lineups like the opening of the show Cheers? They have been on point on those the last couple seasons. Star Wars night was awesome too. I'm all for more things like this.

Edited September 6, 2018 by NJDevils1214

[DevsMan84]

I am pretty sure there was a secret sponsorship with LucasFilm for Star Wars night.  This year they don't have a SW night and it is also the first time in 4 years there is no SW film coming out during the season to promote.  So either LF paid the Devils/NHL to promote it or Devils paid LF to license their characters, etc. for the night and I doubt the Devils were/are willing to shell out $ for that.

[Satans Hockey]

2 hours ago, DevsMan84 said:

And yeah those bathrooms really need a complete makeover at this point.  However, you know if that involves removing the black and red tiles along with replacing the Devils-etched fixtures that the typical loud portion of our fanbase will be howling that the owners are further "de-Deviling" the arena.

I don't care if the they put hot pink tile in as long as they maintain it. I complained awhile ago about the bathrooms simply not even having doors on some of the stalls and some of the light bulbs not being fixed/replaced. Simple stuff like that should be fixed before the next game and not left like that for half a season. Also had complaints around me that some of the women's stalls didn't lock. 

Edited September 6, 2018 by Satans Hockey

[DevilMinder]

I agree with the consensus the goal bar looked half empty and needed an updating.

 

 

[devlman]

I get mixed up with the names of these lounges. Was the Goal Bar one of the Fire/Ice Lounges (which is now basically the two center sections and the ice level seats)? Or the restaurant area on the ends?

[Devilsfan118]

This looks really, really nice.  Assuming it's not crazy expensive I think it'd be a great way to watch a game.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

9 hours ago, devlman said:

I get mixed up with the names of these lounges. Was the Goal Bar one of the Fire/Ice Lounges (which is now basically the two center sections and the ice level seats)? Or the restaurant area on the ends?

It was neither of those.  The Goal Bar was at one end of the arena (the side the Devils attack twice), accessible from the lower concourse (you had to walk up a flight of stairs to get to it).  DM84 described it perfectly...it had an odd, bare-bones, almost cold (and unfinished) feel to it.  The Loft is going to be a nice improvement. 

Here's a photo of the soon-to-be-replaced Goal Bar:

['7']

Way better than the goal bar which was always too open an area. This seems to be a higher quality, more intimate setting.

Curious will this push capacity up or down?

[mfitz804]

I wasn't 100% sure where the Goal Bar was as I am typically at the games with a child, plus I am not a bar-dweller anyway. 

But seeing CR1976's picture, it looks incredibly lame and in need of replacement. 

[SterioDesign]

when i saw this topic at first i thought they were modifying the net somehow to remove the bar in the back or something. 

i was wrong

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

3 hours ago, '7' said:

Way better than the goal bar which was always too open an area. This seems to be a higher quality, more intimate setting.

Curious will this push capacity up or down?

The perfect word to describe the Goal Bar just popped into my head:  UNINVITING.  It lacked warmth or personality of any kind.  These days, I usually get to a game a good 45 minutes or so before puck drop (sometimes even earlier), and the only times I've bothered with the Goal Bar (very few) was when I went with people who wanted a quick drink or three and a place to park themselves in the actual building before going to their actual seats.  But there was never anything about that place that sung to me, or made me feel like going there pregame should ever become a routine part of the experience.  It's also telling that the people I took there never said much of anything about it...when you go to someplace that makes any impression on you, you to tend to speak up about it ("Cool place, gotta hit that again next time...").  Even though the Fire and Ice Lounges quickly became dated (with the materials looking very cheap), I'm sure there were some people who would've at least liked the general themes to stay intact (with refreshes).  I don't think a single person is going to miss the Goal Bar even a little. 

To be fair, like mfitz, my daughter is in tow with me more and more now and will be coming with me at least 60-70% of the time (if not more), so much of the time hitting a bar of any kind isn't really in the cards, but I felt that way even before she started coming as often as she does.

Edited September 10, 2018 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[NJDfan1711]

2 hours ago, SterioDesign said:

when i saw this topic at first i thought they were modifying the net somehow to remove the bar in the back or something. 

i was wrong

Believe it or not, I thought something similar - I thought it was in reference to the horizontal bar that some arenas have behind the net when a goal is scored, instead of the traditional goal light.  

[SterioDesign]

Just now, NJDfan1711 said:

Believe it or not, I thought something similar - I thought it was in reference to the horizontal bar that some arenas have behind the net when a goal is scored, instead of the traditional goal light.  

in my defense i've never been to the Rock so i had no idea that the Goal Bar was a thing

[NJDfan1711]

Just now, SterioDesign said:

in my defense i've never been to the Rock so i had no idea that the Goal Bar was a thing

Yeah, I've only been once, so also had no idea

[mfitz804]

55 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

To be fair, like mfitz, my daughter is in tow with me more and more now and will be coming with me at least 60-70% of the time (if not more), but I felt that way even before she started coming as often as she does.

Ever since my daughter started loving to go, my wife (not a hockey fan) is happy to "save the money" on a third ticket and have some time to herself while we go to the game. It works for me. When you have a kid, you never know what kind of kid you are going to have. When its a girl, and you're a guy, you never know what common ground you are going to find. 

Luckily, we have found that on multiple levels, hockey only being one of them. But its a big one, very happy about it!

[Satans Hockey]

Honestly good looking bar or not I'm not spending $8+ for a beer or drink at the arena. Really wish all stadiums would adopt the Atlanta's NFL/MLS stadium prices where it's $5 for a draft beer and fan friendly prices for food as well. They made more revenue than ever before since fans were more willing to get inside early and spend money since they weren't being gouged on concession stand prices. 

I'm at almost every game and I maybe get something food wise 1x a season and usually get a souvenir cup whenever they have new ones but if the prices were more fair I wouldn't mind eating inside the arena. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

19 hours ago, mfitz804 said:

Ever since my daughter started loving to go, my wife (not a hockey fan) is happy to "save the money" on a third ticket and have some time to herself while we go to the game. It works for me. When you have a kid, you never know what kind of kid you are going to have. When its a girl, and you're a guy, you never know what common ground you are going to find. 

Luckily, we have found that on multiple levels, hockey only being one of them. But its a big one, very happy about it!

Funny you mention this...I actually wanted a girl and was thrilled when I found out we were going to have one.  I definitely dreamed about taking her to Devils games one day, but like you hint at, you're not necessarily sure if they're truly going to take to it. 

It's funny, because of summer, I think it will take her a little while to get back into it...out of sight, out of mind, especially for busy 10-year-olds.  We're going to the first two home games of the year, and I'm glad we are, because hopefully that gets her right back in, all in.

And I agree, I do like it a little better when it's just the two of us.  My wife doesn't mind going to games, but she's not super-enthusiastic about it (she only likes going...won't watch them on TV). 

I might even bring my daughter up to The Lofts pre-game...seems like it has a more welcoming feel all around.