It has been an active and cold winter here in the Northeast and that means my stadium plans will be in flux because of travel conditions and work. I had penciled in a trip to southern Virginia for January 24th and a couple College Basketball games, however with the prospects of a storm, that trip wasn’t looking doable. The previous weekend, I worked a ton and decided to take a day break on Monday, January 19th. That was Martin Luther King Day, which also means a lot of early sporting events. Between a little family time in the fresh snow, I squeezed in a couple college basketball games including one new stadium visit.
I first started by re-visiting Monmouth’s OceanFirst Bank Center and boy did this building pop with the fresh snow and blue sky. I was only able to stay for the first half so that I could do all my first-visit chores up the road for the next game. Here, this was my third time back to see the Hawks. I learned that Dr. King once made a speech here and it was very cool that they had the podium from his speech in the Concourse along with highlights from that speech. They had a decent crowd for this holiday game as Monmouth County is a suburban family hot spot and it was good to see many on hand. I do like this arena and the open indoor track space at each end is perfect to let the little ones burn off energy while parents can watch the game. One issue though was the long concession lines. Plus they ran out of Chicken Tenders, so I opted to relieve my appetite at the next game (which worked out well because I walked into a space where they were just giving pizza’s away)
That next game was to see the NJIT Highlanders and I’ve been saving this one for years in case of a winter-related cancellation. This ended up being the perfect set of circumstances as a replacement. I made my way from West Long Branch to Newark and parked in the nearby garage across from the Joel & Diane Bloom Wellness and Events Center. Jeez that is a ridiculously long name. The facility is beautiful…as it should be if spending $110 million on it. From the imposing metallic exterior to all of the clean and sharp detailing inside, there is a lot to love about this building that defines “multi-purpose”. At least eight different sports practice, compete or train in here and the highlight is the 3,500-seat arena. Immediately, I was struck at how steep the seating structure was, perhaps the steepest I’ve ever seen from floor to ceiling in an arena. It creates fantastic sightlines. Too bad much of the top half is bleachers.
What was weird about this visit was the entrance. After stopping at the box office to buy a ticket, I then realized as I walked in, no one checked my stub. Venturing to the other side of the building and entrance, there was a lone student at the door, mindlessly scrolling on her phone. I could’ve easily just walked on by, something I would’ve definitely tried seeing the out-of-touch $23 cost for a ticket to America East Basketball. No, I wouldn’t feel bad given the school’s $200 million endowment. The Highlanders have always struggled on the court as their last (and only) winning record in conference play came ten years ago. However, they entered this contest with Bryant at 3-1 and really looked good. Despite Coach Grant Billmeier constantly barking and sounding/acting disgruntled the whole time, NJIT played like they were having fun and in-sync. They destroyed Bryant 79-55 and part of the fun of seeing games live is seeing so much that doesn’t come across on a screen. After the game ended, I watched #0 Sebastian Robinson and #1 David Bolden go over to the kids and sign all of their shirts, posters, plus pose for photos. They did it with a smile and they stayed until everyone was good. Great dudes and I’ll be watching the Highlanders through the season. Oh yeah and I quite possibly saw the dunk of the year in the conference.
So that’s one new arena down for the year and I’m still going to try and squeeze in a February trip somewhere if the weather allows.
Stadium and Arena Visits 