Prudential Center

October 23, 2010
Prudential Center (Capacity: 17,625)
Newark, NJ
New Jersey Devils vs Buffalo Sabres
Final Score: 1 – 5

* The arena was re-visited for a game on April 4, 2023

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After seeing the Sabres play New Jersey in their old Meadowlands arena four years earlier, my brother joined me for a visit to see Buffalo take on the Devils in their relatively new arena. After some initial expansion struggles, the Devils became a model franchise in the 1990s and 2000s, with three Stanley Cups to show for it. They were a mainstay in the playoffs, as I loathed their dull and boring style of hockey much of that time. After making it to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final (a loss to the Kings), things went downhill for the Devils and they only made the playoffs once over the next decade. When I returned to see them in April of 2023, New Jersey was back as they had a great squad with young, exciting talent on their way to the playoffs. The Prudential Center opened in 2007 and being in an urban center gives it a much different feel than their previous home. Newark is the largest city in New Jersey with a population over 300,000 and it is located in the northeast portion of the state, along the banks of the Passaic River. The “Brick City” is one that had many problems and outside of pockets where crime and poverty remain an issue, the city has become an improved place to live and visit. There are some nice spots downtown and in the middle is the Prudential Center, a beautiful building that is home to both the Devils and Seton Hall basketball.
Prestige Ranking: 3.5 out of 5

Location

While spots in downtown have become more attractive, there really isn’t much to draw visitors besides Arts & Entertainment. Not to pull you away from Jersey, but New York City is only 20-30 minutes away via car or train. For the best Newark food experience, head to the Ironbound District, where you’ll find plenty of Portuguese and Brazilian restaurants. Downtown amongst the skyscrapers is the Prudential Center and a cluster of popular pre/post game establishments have popped up in the brick buildings across the street. Redd’s Biergarten and American Whiskey get pretty crowded, so don’t forget about the other side on Market Street (like Novelty Burger).
Location Ranking: 5.5 out of 10

Accessibility / Parking

A few blocks to the north of Prudential Center is Newark Penn Station, a major train station that allows for several modes of Mass Transit for use to get to the games. Initially, this was going to be our route, but trains arrive generally 30 minutes apart and it is time consuming because I’d be driving to a station out of my way for my drive home. So, we went by car. Initially, this feels intimating because it’s Northeast Jersey. Rest assured that driving can actually be easier than many other NHL Cities. Hooking up with I-280 to the north and I-78 to the south, is the McCarter Highway (Route 21). This road with stoplights is a nice artery on the edge of the city that easily allows you to get to your preferred parking area. While there is no designated lot for the arena, there are plenty of surface lots and a garage next to the arena. Do not use these, because getting out after the game is awful and will take forever (plus they’re expensive). There are many other parking areas within easy walking distance and the best in my opinion is the garage at One Newark Center. Just a five-minute walk down Mulberry Street and $15, it also offers little trouble getting out and back onto Rt. 21. Newark may have a bad reputation, but walking within a half mile of the arena on gameday is no trouble. Overall, traffic wasn’t bad for both games that I went to (a Saturday Night and a Tuesday Night). Weekday rush hour getting into Newark only featured a 7-minute delay and then leaving from that clutch garage was just 5 minutes of traffic getting back on I-280.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 6.5 out of 8

Exterior

The arena has an outstanding look, that blends in well with the city. Having the appearance of a square shape, Prudential Center is nicely designed in dark red brick with charcoal trim. Three sides are visible and glass rotundas make up the corners, completing the decent look as it resembles a few nearby skyscrapers. There is a lot of glass on other parts of the building and one of the sides used to have a massive video screen (albeit, awkwardly gapped where it looked bad up close). That was either gone or not functional for my second visit and they should just remove that blemish. Coming from the south, brick is more defining, especially with the presence of a separate practice arena in front. The words “Prudential Center” are written neatly across the top, while their rock logo is in a few places as well.
Exterior Ranking: 8.5 out of 10

Concourse

Most enter in one of two glass rotundas, which is a nice visual. Entrance space is good enough and then escalators are used to reach the first-level concourse. White walls and high ceilings are the theme on the main side area, where club eating sections stick out a little bit. It has a shopping mall feel to it. Large beams can be obtrusive, but I didn’t encounter too many jam-ups in this area. That goes for the rest of the concourse as there seems to be enough space where things didn’t crazy when walking or waiting in lines. Around the building, a clean white look continues and there are spots with murals for the team, including one impressive and gigantic one that several artists created honoring New Jersey. Smaller merchandise stands are scattered about, along with standing tables and mini bar areas. The upper-level concourse is a little smaller and plainer, but still overall nice. Some spots can be open to see the inside, but when I went in 2023, curtains annoyingly blocked off any look at the ice. On the other side, plenty of glass areas are open to full views of Newark and these make for good spots to stretch at intermission.
Concourse Ranking: 4.5 out of 5

Food

When the Prudential Center opened, food was tremendous and there was a ton of local flavor. Places like El Pastor (Portuguese), Jimmy Buff’s (Italian Hot Dogs) and Hobbi’s Deli (Jewish Delicatessen) provided great choices and honored the area. When I arrived in 2023, there was a significant decrease in these options. Yes, there are several different things you could get, but besides the name of the concession stands, few of these had local flavor. In addition, nearly everybody on Devils Fan Sites (like Reddit) state that the quality has gone done significantly as food is smaller and tastes bad, unlike before Covid. There’s a generic Boardwalk stand for the Jersey Shore, which has a bleh “Seafood Basket” and Funnel Cakes. The Pastrami on Rye and Meatball Parm, sounded decent, but I didn’t want to try. You can also find a taco stand with a few Portuguese items upstairs, even though it pales in comparison to prior years. All types of alcohol can be found, including specialty cocktails and “Stick Toss”, an ale made for the team from Toms River Brewing.
Food Ranking: 5 out of 8

Interior

Inside is a facility that puts an emphasis on higher-priced, specialty seating. Above the lower bowl on the sides are two “lounges” that include club and buffet access, in addition to a cushy gray seat in one of the three center sections. The Devils were one of the first teams to do this in what unfortunately has been a growing trend. These sections all go for over $200, leading to many empty chairs and casual fans who don’t care about the game. Otherwise, lower bowl seating rounds the rink with wine-colored seats that are comfortable and feature an average amount of spacing and row depth. The next rung up is a row of suites, though behind one of the nets is a restaurant available on a per game basis (non-group) with a ledge seat and buffet. The upper-level then begins at the ends and these are the best seats if you want to sit on the second deck. On the sides, another level of suites, pushes those sections higher and further. The whole upper-side seating area is only eight to ten rows deep and there is an annoying walkway and staircase that separates the upper deck between 100 and 200 sections. The 200s suck because there are so many seats that have railing and glass obtrusions getting in the way of an ice view. Very frustrating as a fan. The arena overall may look nice and posh, but the emphasis on specialty seating hinders other sections. Of course, this is a trend that will not stop (must make money). I do at least appreciate that the arena isn’t just a boring couple rings of circular seating.
Interior Ranking: 6.5 out of 14

Scoreboard

The scoreboard that was full of circular displays that I saw on my first visit was replaced by a giant scoreboard when I came in 2023. Featuring four video panels, the size and clarity is really impressive. I’d argue it’s too big, but again…trends. Watching replays on here is a delight, though operators favor fan shots during almost all breaks in play. At the top is an arena name logo and the bottom features a tab on each side that gives score and game information. Corner panels have stats. I loved how on the night they were wearing retro jerseys, the scoreboard followed suit with old graphics. Ribbon panels follow the facades and additional screens are seen up high where the scoreboard is blocked from the ceiling.
Scoreboard Ranking: 4 out of 4

Displays

In front of the main arena entrance is Championship Plaza, a gathering space laid out in brick with a large NJ logo in the middle. This area includes a giant steel sculpture of a hockey player, along with a large rock representing Prudential (their nickname). Lame because it’s corporate, but it doesn’t feel out of place. Cherry blossom trees bloom around the Plaza in Spring. Feels like more could be done in this area and I miss the huge team mural that they removed from adjoining brick buildings. The Plaza would’ve been good to place the Martin Brodeur statue, which they decided to locate at a lesser used entrance.

Inside, the 200-foot by 30-foot art mural is a sight to behold as it honors the Garden State. Athletes and landmarks are included in the painting on the first level concourse. Other smaller murals are displayed in the concourse and a section displaying the hockey jerseys of all the state High Schools is in a harder to see section above a kids play area (they were scattered around during my first visit). Team history displays are limited to just one small, glass-case section on the upper concourse. This is next to a collection of musical items for artists who have played at The Rock. Above the ice, banners are neatly arranged from the rafters. One side is for Division/Conference Titles, an end for Cup wins, an end for retired numbers (5) and a side for Seton Hall achievements.
Displays Ranking: 4.5 out of 6

Cost

Parking ranges from $35 across the street from the arena, to $15 a reasonable distance away. Low-end tickets for most games will be in the $30 – $60 range, with the lower numbered rows closer to the ice pushing $70 or $80. You can even get some first deck seats under $100 if the date and section is right. Then of course you have the aforementioned chunk of seats that are club and expensive. As for food, yeah it’s crazy. Most things are $10 – $20, including beer. Even the simple hot dog is $7.25. Within NHL ranks, the Devils are 20th for the Fan Cost Index during the 2023 season.
Cost Ranking: 6 out of 8

Fan Support

I derided the Devils fan base or lack there of until recently. Going back, attendance has never been a strong suit and when I visited in 2010, the Devils finished 25th in paid attendance that season, despite still having a perennially good team. Plenty of empty seats often are visible on TV games, primarily due to those expensive club seats taking up a large chunk of real estate in the lower bowl (the Devils can blame themselves for this). However, I did notice that many in the crowd had Devils gear on and having now lived in this state for over 15 years, there seems to be increased pride of them being New Jersey’s only professional team (others play here, but have New York on their name). Of course, you won’t change allegiants to passionate Ranger fans that live in the area, who certainly outnumber Devil fans in the state. I do feel like casual Devils fans are a little more than casual of late. That was definitely noticeable in the atmosphere (see below) and I was impressed with the size of a Tuesday Night crowd late in the 2023 season for a good team, in spite of their standing in league attendance rankings (still near the bottom). I’d say it was about 70% full.
Fan Support Ranking: 4.5 out of 8

Atmosphere

When the Devils were in the Meadowlands, the atmosphere was always so bleh. The move to The Rock made things better and my 2010 visit was a little more noticeable. There were sporadic “Let’s Go Dev-ils” chants, but the Sabres took the home fans out of the game quickly. In 2023, holy cow what a difference! I didn’t see that coming, mainly from an organized cheer perspective, which means that atmosphere was more than just game flow (5-1 Devils win). Along with “Let’s Go Dev-ils”, they’ve always done the “You Suck!” after goals. This time it came with more force and it also would pop-up randomly at times. This is quite the vulgar place as I couldn’t believe how many times I heard F-bombs, not just walking by someone in the concourse, but shouted in the arena as well! There was a “F— the Rangers” chant and a take on the MSG whistle guy that finishes with “Rangers Suck, Flyers Swallow”. Jeez! C’mon there’s kids that come to games. How do you explain that to your 10-year old? On the PK, you’ll hear fans go “Kill…Kill….Kill”. At least I appreciated the David Putty homage where they spell out Devils.

In terms of noise, the goal celebration is decent as the building is loud and I’ve always liked the horn. Fans recognize good plays and quality moments in the game. Being late season probably helped the atmosphere, but this is a noticeable improvement compared to prior years, even when they were consistently good.
Atmosphere Ranking: 10 out of 14

Other Stuff

Prudential Center comes equipped with an attached 1,500-seat practice rink that the Devils use, but also is utilized for public skating and occasional youth games…..Inside the arena, in one of the corners is the NJ logo and this used to light up before the game and during goals. It didn’t seem to be the case when I returned in 2023…..Ushers were nice, but many of the concession workers were the most miserable people who didn’t pretend to hate their job.

Game (Initial Visit)

The game had a strange start as the Devils’ $100 million-dollar star, Ilya Kovalchuk was a healthy scratch, stumping the fans. This one was all Buffalo as they jumped on sloppy backup goalie Johan Hedburg, building a 5-0 lead and New Jersey had to bring in Brodeur on his night off. The Sabres went on to win 6-1 and Thomas Vanek scored twice.

Stadium Experience Ranking: 69 out of 100