SECAUCUS, NJ—In addition to closing the facility until the end of 2016, the state's deal with the Prudential Center in Newark also calls for restrictions as to what events the Izod Center here would book once it reopens.
New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority President Wayne Hasenbalg says the deal reflects the acknowledgement by state officials that in the “changed competitive environment” that there was little chance of improving Izod's losing balance sheet.
"The reality is, the numbers don't lie,” Hasenbalg says. “This administration for the first time has been really thorough in looking at the finances of the authority, and more specifically, Izod, and the numbers are what they are. The decision was made that we've got to stop losing $700,000 a month."
The sports authority agreed either to keep the Izod Center closed in 2017 and in 2018 as well, or alternatively to reopen in 2017 in a format that does not directly compete with the Prudential Center.
In the latter case, the sports authority agreed that from 2017-2021, the Izod Center would only offer a “single theatrical residency production” or cut the capacity of the Izod Center in half, to a maximum of 10,000 seats. See story in The Record.
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