via NJBiz.com – It may be less than a decade since the Prudential Center opened in Newark, but Hugh Weber knows that fans and businesses always have other options when it comes to spending their entertainment dollar.
Like the Barclays Center, which opened in 2012, or the recently transformed Madison Square Garden.
“(For) people who spend their budgets, whether they’re personal or business, there’s always competition in terms of where they can go do it,” said Weber, president of the Prudential Center. “So whether they’re getting a restaurant or an exclusive club feel at a public building like this, we have to make sure that we’re always raising the standard of what we’re providing here.”
It’s why arena executives are eager to roll out a host of new amenities as the New Jersey Devils open their 2015-2016 season on Friday night against the Winnipeg Jets. That means everything from improved food options, bars and club areas to a new 3D pregame show and a bolstered marketing partnership with the arena’s namesake.
For instance, the arena is unveiling an altogether new offering this season: a six-person loge space that Weber said is akin to a theater box. The spaces, which occupy what was once the Goal Bar, sell for $120,000 annually for the six premium seats and come with a ticket to every event at the building, with food included for Devils games.
“From a price point standpoint, it’s really geared toward smaller businesses and business owners who don’t necessarily have the budget to take on a large suite, and yet it gives them the same kind of exclusive feel and amenity,” Weber said, later adding: “If you look at the pitches and other things we’re doing, this is the product that has gotten the most traction right out of the gate.”
The arena and team ownership built five loge boxes this year as a sort of pilot and is seeing strong demand, he said. The group plans to build another roughly two dozen next summer.
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