Study says the New Jersey Devils’ arena isn’t one of the best
We all know that the Devils season came to an end too quickly and that next year is looking awfully promising. What about their home ice? How does the Prudential Center compare to other NHL arenas?
There is a survey out that ranks the NHL arenas, but it doesn’t consider things like sight lines or atmosphere. It looked at the following metrics: parking, price of beer, public transportation, and nearby restaurants.
Take all of that together and the Rock comes in #23 (out of the 32 NHL arenas). The bottom third of the teams isn’t very impressive.
The first category is if the arena has dedicated parking, which the Prudential Center does (actually the only two arenas that don’t have dedicated parking are Madison Square Garden, the home of the Rangers, and UBS Arena, where the Islanders play).
The next metric is the price of beer per ounce, and that’s where the Rock takes a hit; at $1.25 an ounce, beer at the Prudential Center is the most expensive in the league (tied with Buffalo).
Next is the proximity of public transportation; they put the walking time at 7 minutes (I assume from Newark Penn Station, which is two blocks away). The best two are Ball Arena in Denver and Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, both of which have dedicated stops. The worst is the Sociabank Saddledome in Calgary at 18 minutes.
The final category is nearby restaurants; this does not include in-arena dining options. The Devils arena does well in this regard as the closest restaurant is a two-minute walk.
The best overall NHL arenas (according to this list anyway) are the Ball Arena in Denver, Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, and Nationwide Arena in Columbus.
The worst is the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, along with the Honda Center in Anaheim, and the Mullet Arena in Tempe, Arizona.
Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle only.
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