Prudential Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey, United States. The arena was designed by HOK Sport (now Populous), with the exterior designed by Morris Adjmi Architects. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the National Hockey League's (NHL) New Jersey Devils and the NCAA's Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball team. It is also the temporary home of the Women's National Basketball Association's (WNBA) New York Liberty during the renovation of Madison Square Garden. The arena seats 17,625 patrons for hockey and 18,711 for basketball. Fans and sports writers have affectionately nicknamed the arena "The Rock" in reference to the Rock of Gibraltar, the corporate logo of Prudential Financial, a financial institution that owns the naming rights to the arena and is headquartered within walking distance of the arena.
The arena was built amidst financial concerns and years of speculation that the Devils would relocate, despite the fact that the Devils were perennial playoff contenders and were often at or near the top of the NHL's standings for nearly two decades. The arena is located two blocks from Newark Penn Station in downtown Newark, just west of Newark's Ironbound district, making it easily accessible via New Jersey Transit, PATH, Newark Light Rail, and Amtrak. At the time of its opening, Prudential Center was the first major league sports venue to be built in the New York metropolitan area since the Brendan Byrne Arena, the Devils' former home, opened in 1981. It is hoped that Prudential Center might play an important role in the revitalization of Newark.
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Famous quotes containing the word center:
“The question of whether it’s God’s green earth is not at center stage, except in the sense that if so, one is reminded with some regularity that He may be dying.”
—Edward Hoagland (b. 1932)