DiFrancesco Is Back on the $325-Mil Arena Bandwagon

NEWARK-He came to talk to the press about his opposition to a proposed shopping mall-anchored mixed-use complex on 90 environmentally sensitive acres in the Hackensack Meadowlands. The Virginia-based Mills Corp. wants to do the mega project, but there is considerable opposition. However, the questions after the press conference in Lyndhurst, NJ inevitably turned to the $325-million sports arena proposed for Downtown.

The new arena would become the new home of the New Jersey Devils and New Jersey Nets franchisees. Just before she left office, Gov. Christie Whitman, now head of the EPA, announced she had reached a verbal agreement with the teams’ owner, YankeeNets, for a state and local funding package of $125 million.