Take The Train To The Game?

JT, I guess the only saving grace you'll have is that games at Yankee/Shea stadium are nearly an hour away from Newark, so those fans will presumably be on earlier trains than fans headed for MSG and Newark arena if the games start around the same time. If the games end around the same time, the same staggered crowds will result...and baseball games tend to take longer than hockey games anyway.

Am a little surprised at some of the comments here....

I take the train to/from NYP/MSG and Morris County for 4-5 weeknight Ranger games and the crowd(ing) isn't that bad at all on the usual 8-9 car Comet set. I've also done a couple MSG concerts....THAT can get crowded with some standees but not as crowded as the inbound a.m. rush every work day.

18,000 people won't all be taking NEC trains and those that do I would think would be headed southbound. Some might head east/north to the Secaucus Transfer for connections to Bergen County. Some will take the subway/trolley over to the Broad Street station to take trains west on the Morristown and Montclair-Boonton routes. I'd bet a fair amount will take PATH to/from the yuppie digs in Hoboken/Jersey City ! Most will no doubt drive their cars and park in and around the arena....and THAT'S because Newark has always been an easy city to get in and out of. To the north is I-280, Route 21 and Bloomfield Ave. and to the south is I-78, Route 21, Routes 1&9 and Route 22.

The city needs this arena and the restaurants, shops and other things that'll boast employment/revenue and give the place a positive economic/commerce boost.

Tri-State Tom wrote:The city needs this arena and the restaurants, shops and other things that'll boast employment/revenue and give the place a positive economic/commerce boost.

Amen, Tom. It's about time Newark joined the "major leagues."

It seems like the only way to have enough room for possible riders to/from games would be for special trains. Of course the minor details of where the train would fit in slot wise and where it could "tie up" till the game is over, etc.

I know that transit in Boston (forget the name) runs a special train from south station to patriot games, but i don't have the particulars.

Maybe a rail spur will be built off the main line to access the stadium....

Mudvalve wrote:Maybe a rail spur will be built off the main line to access the stadium....

A two-block spur? Why, when fans will be able to just walk across where the old CNJ yard was to reach Penn Station, PATH, and Newark City Subway?

rvrr, i was being sarcastic. Now that it looks as the devils will be leaving the meadows do they plan to build a spur there.

Seems that something will need to be done if eventually a large amount of "fans" take the train to events.

Mudvalve,

I guess I need to see an emoticon when you do sarcasm....

True, sometimes the trains aren't that bad after games, and out of NYP, there are now 4 different lines that people get on to go to different places, lightening the load on the other lines. However, there are times after games, concerts, shows, and other events, when teh trains are simply rediculously crowded.

I know, I have worked these types of trains, both the light ones and the packed ones numerous times. I particularlly remember an 8 car train we had to Long Branch after Wrestlemania 120 or whatever they are up to now. People were standing everywhere, families were sitting on the floor in the aisles, and to top it off, there were the few drunk #$%holes who kept causing trouble and trying to pick fights and cursing and being loud and had to be removed.

And when the trains are real crowded after a game or concert or whatever, people tend to think and act as if they are still in the game or show (groupthink) and often times that causes problems, with drunk people fighting, yelling cursing, making insults, smoking, vandalizing the equipment and other people's stuff.

NJT is not going to be smart enough to look at other events that are going on at the same time to realize that there are times when the trains will become extremely overcrowded with a game in Newark, along with other events going on in NYC, other games or events that will be occuring or letting out at approximately the same time. And if there is an event on teh weekends, oh boy - that would make things REALLY crowded. Maybe a 12 car train get can completely filled out of Princeton Jct then, instead of now where at PJ, there are 10 cars full now on some weekend trains.

Don't get me wrong, I think the arena is a terrific idea for Newark, I just have a few concerns with how fast Sharpe James is trying to push it, and I think if he's not careful, Newark will end up getting screwed in the long run. However, there are other logicistical issues that NJT (and the state DOT in regards to roads in the area) will need to issue and address when the arena opens, or else NJT may get it self into trouble capacity wise.

sorry Rv, next time i'll put one of those smile faces. I do agree with JT that Mayor James is pushing this fast and furious.

For all we know, that stadium could have little or no effect on the NEC. :D

I think Mayor James is moving quickly because he is afraid of losing the Devils the way he lost out on the Nets (which would be a much bigger draw in Newark than the Devils, I think).

Personally, I'd like to see an arena football team move in there, too.

As to the public financing issue, we know that the Devils will be getting some decent return on their portion of the construction investment (in the way of stadium revenues, tax breaks, etc.), but one thing I haven't seen is the construction financing, rent/lease, tax and other financials on the rest of the redevelopment area. I know everyone is fixated on the stadium, but is Newark going to reap financial rewards from the rest of the construction? If there's gonna be several new office buildings, hotels, retail, and residential space surrounding the stadium, I expect the city will not be giving away all the related revenue there. I think they would view the Devils stadium as a "loss-leader" to draw the rest into downtown Newark.

There is no guarantee that the Nets are going to Brooklyn. They could end up staying in NJ and playing at a Newark Arena. Remember, the real money for an arena is concerts, the circus, etc. The Meadowlands Arena with two teams doesn't make money except when Bruce or the Stones shows up.

JLo:

The difference in Brooklyn (vs. Newark) is that the developer who bought the Nets--for the express purpose of moving them to a new arena in Brooklyn--is getting a serious hearing from the powers that be in both NYC and NY State for his project. And, just like in Newark, the Brooklyn thing is not just an arena but a redevelopment area that includes residential, commercial, and retail space as well, so the "real money" is in the rest of the property, not the arena business itself. The arena is the "loss-leader" to spur the rest of the development.

Here's how certain the Nets move to Brooklyn is: I was in attendance at the most recent annual meeting of NYC & Company (the convention and visitors bureau of NYC), and several of the speakers were city development officials and councilmen and the like. Every speech mentioned the Nets as a "when," not an "if"--even while they talked up the Jets' West Side stadium and Javits Center expansions in less definite terms.

Don't doubt the power of a committed, politically-connected multi-millionaire real-estate developer in NYC during the Pataki/Bloomberg regime. Pataki especially is really friendly to the interests of these guys. Can you say "sweetheart deal"?

Right now, I think the only roadblock to the Nets move is the NBA, who I believe have yet to approve the sale itself.

Right now, I think the only roadblock to the Nets move is the NBA, who I believe have yet to approve the sale itself.

That and the Cablevision/Knicks/Dolans who are demanding a huge territorial compensation payment to allow a second team in NYC.

I'm not sure that will hold water, since the Nets are making an intra-market move (they may actually be moving further away from MSG). It would be a different story if it was a team moving to the NY metro area from another market.