Posted on

Renewed Push for Meadowlands Convention Center Project in East Rutherford

428077238 10228548350086501 8609541140516777372 n e1708345649772

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

East Rutherford NJ, State Senator Joe Pennacchio (R-Morris/Passaic) is calling for the legislature to advance his bill that would direct the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) to conduct a feasibility study of the Meadowlands convention center project.

Continue reading Renewed Push for Meadowlands Convention Center Project in East Rutherford

Posted on

A Film and Television Studio is Born in the Meadowlands

izod1

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

East Rutherford NJ, opened in 1981 to host professional sports and concerts, the Izod Center in the Meadowlands, previously known as the Brendan Byrne Arena and the Continental Airlines Arena, was one of New Jersey’s premiere entertainment venues. The more recent arrival of the Prudential Center, and subsequent departures of both the New Jersey Devils and New Jersey Nets, left the venue underutilized and eventually shuttered.

Continue reading A Film and Television Studio is Born in the Meadowlands

Posted on

Buzzer sounds on Izod Center: Arena expected to close after years of decline

120884-erutherford-ticket-7

120884-erutherford-ticket-7

Buzzer sounds on Izod Center: Arena expected to close after years of decline

JANUARY 14, 2015, 2:55 PM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2015, 1:27 AM
BY JOHN BRENNAN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The Christie administration wants to close the Izod Center, which has been a key component of the Meadowlands Sports Complex for 34 years, perhaps as soon as the end of this month.

The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority board will be asked at its monthly meeting Thursday to approve a plan that would shutter the 18,000-seat arena by the end of March. The date would be moved up if acts booked there for February and March can be relocated to the Prudential Center in Newark.

Two influential Bergen County Democrats — state Sens. Paul Sarlo and Loretta Weinberg — were harshly critical of the proposal.

The facility, which since 2007 has borne the name of the clothing maker Izod, lost its sports tenants – the Devils of the NHL, Seton Hall University basketball and the Nets NBA franchise – between 2007 and 2010. Only a handful of concerts have been held at the arena in the past two years, although three dozen schools held graduation ceremonies there last spring and the arena still attracts family oriented holiday shows.

Wayne Hasenbalg, the president of the sports authority, said the decision, though difficult, was a matter of economics and the ongoing transformation of the Meadowlands Sports Complex, highlighted by the American Dream entertainment and retail project.

“Just about everyone in New Jersey and the region has great memories of big-name concerts, basketball or hockey games or other family entertainment at the arena,” said Hasenbalg, who grew up in Oakland.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/izod-center-expected-to-close-schedule-of-events-after-march-31-being-cleared-1.1192590

Posted on

Report of Izod Center deal was ‘error,’ American Dream developers say

neighborhood-of-make-believe

Report of Izod Center deal was ‘error,’ American Dream developers say

DECEMBER 9, 2014    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2014, 6:40 PM
BY JOHN BRENNAN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

American Dream Meadowlands developer Triple Five, which has been touting scores of leases and commitments to the 2.9 million-square-foot shopping and entertainment complex, on Tuesday backed away from a claim about taking over the adjacent Izod Center.

The four-page “Monthly Status Update” distributed to a number of real estate brokers at a shopping center conference in New York this week refers to an intention to “Re-brand Izod Center to American Dream Center in partnership with the owners of Barclays Center & Live Nation.”

But the 33-year-old arena is owned and operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, and agency President Wayne Hasenbalg said “that decision hasn’t been made, and we have no conversations with [Triple Five] about that. We are the entity that would decide to whom we turned over operations.”

Alan Marcus, a spokesman for Triple Five, said the arena notice was in error, but said he could not explain how it ended up in the status update. The update, distributed to many attendees at the International Council of Shopping Centers convention at the Javits Center, which ended Tuesday, also listed FAO Schwarz, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor and scores of other retailers.

“The only thing that would be accurate to say is that should Izod become available for lease, purchase or otherwise, we would undoubtedly participate in any privatization process, given our commitment to expanding entertainment opportunities in conjunction with American Dream,” Marcus said.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/nj-state-news/report-of-izod-center-deal-was-error-american-dream-developers-say-1.1149225