Izod Center—Longtime New Jersey Staple of Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and More—to Close in March

UPDATE: Since the publication of this story, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority voted to close down the Izod Arena.

It's almost a story out of a Bruce Springsteen song: All the jobs are going elsewhere and the town begins to die. The "town" in this case is the Izod Center at the Meadowlands complex in East Rutherford, one of The Boss's favorite concert joints in his home state. A rash of competition in the region, from the Newark Prudential Center to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, have begun swallowing up both music and sports events. Now Governor Chris Christie is pushing a plan to close the arena in March, according to Billboard.

The Izod Center has been a stalwart in the area for 34 years but the new venues have taken a healthy chunk of its livelihood. Both of the the professional sports teams that once called Izod home now reside at other venues: The New Jersey Devils of the NHL moved south to the Prudential Center in Newark and the Nets of the NBA crossed the river and moved into the Barclays Center. Madison Square Garden, as ever, remains a dominant competitor.

Although the sports teams have moved relatively recently, concert earnings haven't exactly been hot. During the period between 2005-2009, the arena hosted 331 shows that brought in $135 million. During the next five year period, that dropped to 179 shows and $52 million.

Those are just the box office numbers however, revenues generated from ticket sales to events. Most of the arena's actual profits comes from food and beverage sales, and other services provided at the venue, which normally rises and falls in terms of total attendees. With the two sports teams- which hosted around 40 games a year each-gone, that source of income has dried up.

Springsteen has had a number of huge concert runs at the venue but unless he plans a monthly show in Jersey as his pal Billy Joel does at Madison Square Garden, there's not much hope for Izod. Even Bon Jovi, another hero of the region, has made the Prudential Center his go-to venue.

Tags

Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen