New Jersey today abruptly pulled the plug on the 34-year-old state-owned Izod Center arena in the Meadowlands, citing $8.5 million in losses and mounting state subsidies.
With little warning and no public notice, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority voted this afternoon to shut down the arena by the end of the month and shift the remaining few events on its schedule to the Prudential Center in Newark, eight miles away.
The arena was home to the New Jersey Nets and NHL's New Jersey Devils for nearly three decades. The Devils moved to the Prudential Center in nearby Newark in 2007. The Nets followed suit in 2010, playing two seasons in Newark before moving to Brooklyn.