Meadowlands Arena opened on July 2, 1981, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, as Brendan Byrne Arena, part of the broader Meadowlands Sports Complex alongside Giants Stadium and the Meadowlands Racetrack. Over its operating life it carried three names while active, also serving time as Continental Airlines Arena and Izod Center, before the state closed the venue as Izod Center on April 3, 2015. The Meadowlands Arena name was only applied in 2016, after the building had already gone dark, making it the arena’s fourth name but not one it carried while actually in use.
Built for $85 million, the arena was home to the New Jersey Nets from 1981 to 2010 and the New Jersey Devils from 1982 to 2007, along with Seton Hall Pirates basketball. It also hosted the 1996 NCAA Men’s Final Four, multiple NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Finals, and concerts by acts like Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, and Queen, cementing its place as one of the busiest multi-purpose arenas in the New York metro area.
- Brooklyn Nets played here 1981–2010. See every Nets arena →
- New Jersey Devils played here 1982–2007. See every Devils arena →
Stats at a Glance
- Team(s): New Jersey Nets (NBA, 1981-2010), New Jersey Devils (NHL, 1982-2007)
- Location: East Rutherford, New Jersey
- Opened: July 2, 1981
- Closed: April 3, 2015 (as Izod Center)
- Capacity: About 20,049 for basketball, around 19,040 for hockey, up to 20,000 for concerts
- Notable fact: Renamed Meadowlands Arena in 2016, a year after it had already closed to the public
A Venue With Four Names
Few arenas changed identities as often as this one, though not all the names reflect years of actual use. It opened as Brendan Byrne Arena in 1981, became Continental Airlines Arena in 1996, and was rebranded Izod Center in 2007. It was still operating under the Izod Center name when the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority voted in January 2015 to shut it down, with the building hosting its last public event that March and formally closing on April 3, 2015. The Meadowlands Arena name followed in 2016, applied to a building that was already closed to the public.
Designed by the Grad Partnership along with Dilullo, Clauss, Ostroki & Partners, the arena was built to anchor the Meadowlands Sports Complex alongside Giants Stadium. Its circular bowl design gave it flexible configurations for basketball, hockey, and touring concerts, letting it host crowds of roughly 20,000 on back-to-back nights for entirely different events throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.
Life After the Final Buzzer
The Nets’ 2010 move to Newark and the Devils’ 2007 relocation to the Prudential Center stripped the arena of its anchor tenants, and the state-run New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority voted in January 2015 to close the building as Izod Center, with its final event held that March.
Since then the arena, since renamed Meadowlands Arena, has stood in East Rutherford unused by the public, instead serving periodically as a rehearsal space for major touring concert productions and as a filming location for NBCUniversal television productions. Various redevelopment and demolition proposals have surfaced over the years, but as of the most recent reporting the structure remains intact and dormant.
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Meadowlands Arena FAQs
Why did this arena have so many different names?
Each name change followed a new naming-rights sponsorship deal: Brendan Byrne Arena in 1981, Continental Airlines Arena in 1996, and Izod Center in 2007. The final name, Meadowlands Arena, was applied in 2016, after the venue had already closed.
Was the arena called ‘Meadowlands Arena’ while it was open to the public?
No. It closed as Izod Center on April 3, 2015, and was only renamed Meadowlands Arena in 2016, so it never hosted a game or concert under that name.
Which teams played at this arena?
The New Jersey Nets played there from 1981 to 2010 and the New Jersey Devils from 1982 to 2007, alongside Seton Hall Pirates basketball from 1985 to 2007.
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Photo: Heath Brandon / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.