There was no practice Sunday. The Devils will get back to work today at South Mountain Arena, but still have three days until their next game Thursday night at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers.
While we have some free time, I was wondering if anyone made it to Prudential Center this weekend -- either for the Open House on Saturday or for the season ticket holder event on Sunday. If so, what were your impressions of the new arena? Let's everyone share.
Did anyone take the train? What was that like? For those that drove, did you find it easy to park and walk to the arena?
Both events were during the day and not for full-capacity crowds, so it's going to be different than getting there on a game night, but I'm still interested in hearing about your experiences.
The building is top notch. VERY wide concourses....more bathrooms than you could hopefor and everything is convenient to a bathroom and a concession stand. Taking the Train was great, I timed a 20 minute walk to the station from my house and onother 5 or so minutes from Newark Penn to the arena, on wide open streets that wouldnt be scary to ANYONE (the comment was made that that part of town could look like any hockey city)
My only negatives were that the seats up where the "real fans sit" are noticeably more narrow than the CAA, and the section signage was so horrible that neither myself nor the ushers were truely sure where my section was until we dug out an arena map and counted out sections. The view from uptop (210) was great though a railing was slightly in the way of your sightline of center ice by the benches.
All in all, a positive experience and I think that once people see this building they will want to come back even after the novelty wears off....
Posted by: Big Lou | October 22, 2007 at 09:20 AM
That's not the first time I've heard complaints about the section signage. With that being true, please give opinions as to if the section signs look like they can be redesigned? Or do they look more like permanent fixtures which may not be able to be changed that easily? Thank you.
Posted by: Sean | October 22, 2007 at 09:42 AM
Probably the nicest arena I have ever been in..the club seats are unbelievable and the arena is so much more intimate than CAA..This is exactly what the businesses who take customers to games have been waiting for..A little luxury for your 150 dollar seats..
Posted by: jl | October 22, 2007 at 09:47 AM
We went on Sunday, and were VERY impressed. I agree with pretty much everything Big Lou said.
We drove and to be honest, I don't expect we will be able to take mass transit very easily or cheaply. The cost for parking will equal the cost for 2 on any of the train/PATH lines. That's OK, I worked in Newark for 9 years, so I think I have a good idea about parking, etc.
One thing I should say, even though the concessions look to be the same prices as at CAA, the choices look infinitely better.
Posted by: wkmaier | October 22, 2007 at 09:53 AM
My family took NJ Trans from Union to Newark. This was a major improvement over driving to the Meadowlands, and cheaper. The building is great. Everyone was friendly and heplful, and most of all it feels like home. This arena will finally give fans a place to call their own and establish the Devils a major sports attraction.
Posted by: Bill | October 22, 2007 at 10:02 AM
anyone know the best way to a game from the new haven CT area? would it just be easier for me to drive?
Posted by: justin | October 22, 2007 at 10:05 AM
The signage was incompleate and looked to be easily changeable, I pointed out the confusion to at least 3 ushers and one gentleman who claimed to be my "section concierge"... all said they would make sure the right people know about it.
The Train will be a HUGE bonus, and to the gentleman from New Haven....if you can take a train to NYC you can take a train to the new arena....id say the walk from Newark Penn to the arena all in all was no worse than walking the tunnel from Giants stadium...
Posted by: Big Lou | October 22, 2007 at 10:24 AM
The seats in the corner sections are horrible. A lot smaller than CAA and a lot less leg room. Sure I could lose a few pounds but I never had a problem at CAA and getting in and out of these seats is going to be a problem. Also my knee will be stabbing the guy in front of me in the head the entire game.
The seats in all the sections but the corner are fine. But the seats in the corner sections are 4-6 inches smaller than the seats in the rest of the arena. If you have a couple extra pounds on you dont even bother with the $10 seats go right to the $20 or $35 .. Unfortunately I have season tickets in the $10 section ... its going to be a long uncomfortable season.
Other than that the arena is very nice!!
Posted by: jdr30 | October 22, 2007 at 10:28 AM
AWESOME! We went both days. Sunday was better organized. The building is amazing, and the train is easy as pie. We had about 20 other people get on at our stop. We didn't know these people before we got on the train, but we all walked over together. It was great for getting into the spirit.
From CT take the train to Grand Central, and then walk to Penn. Take the train from Penn to Newark Penn and then it is onlya 7 min walk. Or drive and park.
I felt at home in the building and I didn't want to leave. I love it there. The employees were so friendly and nice. It was so refreshing.
Posted by: jen | October 22, 2007 at 10:50 AM
My wife and I drove down on Saturday. We live in the Danbury area of CT, it takes as long for a train to get me into Manhattan as it does for me to just drive to Newark. The drive itself was fine, I took the straightforward route, 280 to 21 and it was fine. I'm sure on a weeknight it won't be but in time we'll learn the back ways.
It wasn't a game day but there seemed to be plenty of parking lots, if you ever drive into Manhattan, its the same thing, just find an open lot, which we had passed several and ended up at one a block from the arena.
The arena itself was absolutely stunning. Figuring out where our season seats were was definitely confusing regarding the signage, as others have stated, but I found the staff to be very friendly and helpful, we figured it out eventually.
We wandered the immediate vicinity of the arena trying to find some food choices and there really wasn't much, that was really the only disappointing thing to me. The area was fine, before anyone takes it the wrong way, but you want to be able to park once and get to everything. I'm not one for eating in the arena, if dinner is going to cost me $25 I want more than just chicken fingers fries and beer. I was hoping for an idea of the fire lounge menu but they didn't have anything available on saturday, we couldn't make sunday so I don't know if they had any then.
All in all though it looked awesome, sure it will take some time getting into a routine but it looks well worth it.
Posted by: Drew | October 22, 2007 at 11:04 AM
I'd like to add, the Ironbound section of Newark, with it's collection of excellent Portuguese, Spanish and Brazilian restaurants, is just a 5 minute walk in the opposite direction of the arena, from Penn Station. That might not be viable for a weeknight, but definitely for a weekend game.
There is also a new bar/lounge called Hell's Kitchen in the same area. I've not been, but it's gotten some good reviews (they have food too).
http://www.hellskitchenlounge.com/index.html
Posted by: wkmaier | October 22, 2007 at 11:56 AM
To the gentleman from New Haven, you can take regional Amtrak route right into Newark Penn. Not sure of the cost, but that sounds like the easiest thing to me.
As for the arena, it was fantastic. I did not have any problems with the seats in the corners at all, and didn’t notice much of a size difference there. The seats are really comfortable. It’s like being in a movie theatre, and the sightlines are great. There are no bad seats.
The artwork is impressive. I especially love the mural with the players on the bench and the Stanly Cup winning coaches. The event itself was very professional and the coaches, players, Lou and Vanderbeek were very personable. All of the staff were helpful and friendly. I wish they’d had more than cookies, but even those were good and it looks like the food selection will be excellent – more than just chicken fingers and fries. All in all a very positive experience. And there are several bars and restaurants within walking distance.
Posted by: jules | October 22, 2007 at 12:09 PM
Amazing day on Sunday! We parked about a block away on the East side, and there sure looked like lots of parking in the "Green" zone, where we'll be parking. Agree with signage for seating, but easily fixed. Love the constant access to the ice you have while walking the concourse, getting food, etc. Having the players there for almost 2 hours was tremendous for Season Ticket holders, they were for the most part very friendly, accomodating, and gracious. Kudos to Cam Janssen! The spaciousness of the arena concourses is unbelievable. Great job all around. I spoke to Jeff Vanderbeek, he was everywhere. Should be a great experience.
Posted by: Paul Dango | October 22, 2007 at 12:10 PM
I think that the train is going to be huge for the Rock and the Devils in general. I was honestly stunned at how many Devils fans were on the train coming from the south. The conductor even told Devils fans to get off at the Newark Penn Station stop (he wasn't particularly nice about it...must have been a Flyers fan...). The walk was almost exactly like walking through the cow tunnel at the Meadowlands, really; just across city blocks instead of wind-swept parking lots. Distance-wise it was about the same.
Everyone's pretty much been over the loves and gripes about inside the building so I'll only add that I think they did an absolutely beautiful job, and the view from the upper concourse looking out behind the LCD screen is stellar.
Posted by: Josh | October 22, 2007 at 12:46 PM
Awesome info wkmaier. Thanks so much.
Posted by: Drew | October 22, 2007 at 12:47 PM
Well pretty much everything has already been said. The only thing I'd like to add is that there is no way to even compare this arena to CAA. The CAA is a toilet bowl in comparison, in every category. Gone are the days of being cramped into the dark, dank narrow concourses of the CAA, with concession vendors stuffed into various corners and the smell of beer and urine wafting into the hallways. The Pru Center is top notch from top to bottom. I love it.
And TG, great job on this blog! It's become one of my favorite websites to visit every day.
Posted by: Yaron | October 22, 2007 at 01:04 PM
The train was an experience. The 3:21pm out of Newark to Secaucus was delayed after it left the station. We then missed our connecting train on the Bergen line and ended up waiting in Secaucus a painful hour. In the end, it was a 1 hour 35 minute commute from Newark to Fair Lawn. It better be smoother once they add more trains.
Posted by: Michael | October 22, 2007 at 01:28 PM
Where was the local media covering the open house on Sunday? Too busy trying to drum up negative slants against the arena? Especially the Star Ledger-they are horrible.
Great time, probably about 8-9k Devils fans showed up.
The only complaint I have is the 200 level seats leave little leg room.
I headed over to Hells Kitchen in the Ironbound and had a nice meal. It's only 2 blocks from The Rock.
There is free parking over there on Lafayette Street too, and it's only a 2 block walk.
Go Devs!
Posted by: luciferdevils | October 22, 2007 at 01:33 PM
As for the section signage, from what I was told this morning, that is one of the facets of the building that is yet to be finished. I'm not sure if what was up this weekend was temporary or what. I heard that some sections were not marked at all, so that would lead me to believe that will be one of the finishing touches they'll be putting on this week.
Posted by: TG | October 22, 2007 at 01:38 PM
P.S. Thanks to everyone for their feedback and info on their arena visits.
Posted by: TG | October 22, 2007 at 01:39 PM
On Saturday, I was on Long Island for the Devils' game. For Sunday's event, the media (at least not the print media) was not invited.
Posted by: TG | October 22, 2007 at 01:46 PM
Heh, Tom, you should have gone anyway!
I took the train in from Somerville, on the Raritan Valley line. It was pretty smooth, not delayed even though there were announcements that the trains would be delayed 15-20 minutes due to track maintenance. Lots of Devils fans.
Posted by: jules | October 22, 2007 at 01:53 PM
To those complaining about the corner-seat legroom, can you clarify whether these were the upper level seats or lower level? I have season seats down low in the corner (section 22) but wasn't able to make it to the reception this weekend.
Thanks!
Posted by: MacBeatsPang | October 22, 2007 at 02:01 PM
I'll be taking the Path trains in to Newark Penn and from what I've been reading, there will be Path trains on standby after the game - one after the other. This would be a huge benefit, seeing as there will be people piling out all at once.
Those of you who took NY Penn to Newark Penn, how long is the ride? Anyone have cost info?
Posted by: Laura | October 22, 2007 at 03:08 PM
NY Penn to Newark Penn is $3.50. (that is what I was charged 3 weeks ago.) It is about a 15 minute ride, very quick, and very smooth.
Posted by: jen | October 22, 2007 at 06:36 PM