Izod Center

About Izod Center

The Izod Center (formerly Brendan Byrne Arena and Continental Airlines Arena) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. Originally opened in 1981, it is currently home to the New Jersey Nets NBA basketball team. The arena was formerly home to the New Jersey Devils NHL hockey team until 2007, when they moved to the superior Prudential Center in Newark. Official seating capacity, as of 2004, is 19,040 for hockey, 20,029 for college basketball, 20,049 for NBA games, and a maximum of 20,000 for concerts. The arena attracts spectators and fans from New Jersey and the New York Metropolitan Area. Many people and some tickets and press releases simply refer to the arena as Meadowlands Arena.

Construction on a new arena across New Jersey State Highway 20 (now 120) from Giants Stadium and the Meadowlands Racetrack began in 1977. The arena was designed by Grad Partnership and Dilullo, Clauss, Ostroki & Partners, and was constructed at a cost of $85 million. Originally named Brendan Byrne Arena (after Brendan Byrne, the sitting governor of the state, who was also a member of the ownership group seeking to bring an NHL team to the State), the arena opened July 2, 1981, with the first of six concerts by New Jersey rock musician Bruce Springsteen. This was followed by an ice show later that month.

On October 30, 1981, the New Jersey Nets, who had played their previous four seasons at the Louis Brown Athletic Center at Rutgers University, relocated to the Meadowlands and made their Brendan Byrne Arena debut, losing to the New York Knicks, 103-99. Later that season, on January 31, 1982, the NBA All-Star Game was hosted at the arena. Shortly after, the New Jersey Devils, relocated from Colorado , playing their first regular season game there on October 5, 1982, resulting in a 3–3 tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins.