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TagsVanderbeek, Prokhorov and Booker come together at the Prudential Center
BY JOE FAVORITO
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
It is almost summer time in New Jersey, and one of the great Jersey traditions, the summer share house, is already well underway from Sea Girt to Wildwood. The friendships and partnerships, sometimes longtime, sometimes fleeting but always interesting, are part of what makes summer at The Shore so much a rite of passage for hundreds of thousands of young, and not so young, people every year.
However on Monday, a different version of a share house audition took place. It was a bit farther to the north ... Newark to be exact ... and it was a first-time meeting for partners excited over a winter share — one that has very little to do with sun or sand or even skiing.
What it does have in common with its brethren at the beach are the hopes and dreams of hitting it off and striking a long term partnership, at least by one or two of the three parties in attendance, while the third seems to want to enjoy the moment or moments of the next few winters and probably head to his new digs in Brooklyn after that.The parties in question were Devils owner Jeff Vanderbeek, new Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov and Newark Mayor Corey Booker, who took an extended look in and around the Prudential Center together for the first time Monday evening. The two hour meeting gave Vanderbeek a chance to show the Nets' owner all the in's and out's of the Pru, which the Nets will call home for the next two years at least, as the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn starts its assembly.
It was a great day for Vanderbeek, who got a chance to show his new share partner all the details and design for what is the best arena in the tri-state area, and wha
t quickly became at the end of last season a strong, sold out home arena for his Devils. The tour included every level of luxury suite and views of the court from every angle, as well as a look at the large empty space which will become the custom-designed Nets locker room (at the Devils' expense), an element Vanderbeek had built into the specs when the arena was constructed. It was for the hope of a day like Monday, welcoming in an NBA tenant to take the court on nights when the Devs are away and Seton Hall is idle. That is what Vanderbeek had envisioned when his thoughts of purchasing the team and building the arena first popped up.
Mayor Booker was along for the ride as the very interested and supportive best friend Monday as well. As he reiterated courtside, Newark would love to have the Nets stay a long while, as hoops is much more a part of the lifeblood of Brick City residents, even though many have started to warm to the Devils and all the dollars the arena and the team can put into the coffers of city businesses.
Will the share house courtship turn to a long-lasting relationship? Who knows for sure. The economy is still challenged and the Barclay's Center has yet to rise on the opposite side of Manhattan, so maybe this short term share could pay a dividend if love and dollars blossom.
Vanderbeek remarked Monday that it was great to see Nets season subscribers and sponsors in the building checking out seat locations already, and the technology available today can easily transform an arena forged in ice as much as steel into one that will have a look and feel that can be all Nets NBA basketball. Sponsored seat covers can lift away Devils logos, banners will be moved to the rafters, video boards will run NBA promotions, pictures will go up and down, and Brett Yormark and his team will find their usual hundreds of promotions so that Nets fans will feel more at home in Newark than perhaps they ever did at the Izod Center. (They may also not be the only temporary hoops tenant in the building, as sources indicated the WNBA Liberty will also make the trip across the river for at least a few summers while Madison Square Garden undergoes its own facelift, although that has yet to be officially announced).
It is true that these temporary shares have happened before in this area, often times with less than desired results. The Yankees and Mets shared Shea Stadium for two years in the '70s, effectively beat the field into a pulp, and were constantly at war for dates and attention (sounds very Shore-like, no?). The Jets and Giants have shared, and will continue to share, the New Meadowlands Stadium in a relationship that was forged out of convenience and is now a permanent solution. The Devils and Nets as one may remember, not only shared a building but ownership and some management at one point (the now deceased YankeeNets). It was a relationship that many have said was strained from day one. This share, a long time in coming after the Devils departed the Izod Center, is of convenience but is also of opportunity.
It is the opportunity to fill more dates that the Pru has had in its brief history, which will help mightily in Booker's continued noble crusade to restore Newark to past glory. It is the opportunity for the NBA to see if Newark is a viable alternative for other teams looking to relocate if and when the Nets do go to Brooklyn and showing the marketplace could support a third NBA team (three hockey and once three baseball teams worked didn't it?).
It is the opportunity for Vanderbeek to get closer to fulfilling his dream of having the building in constant play, bringing in fans for the first time from far and wide who may not really like hockey but do enjoy the bounce on the NBA hardwood. It is the opportunity for the Nets to sample a fresh scent of basketball air, away from the scent and history that followed them from Long Island to the Meadowlands. It is the opportunity for businesses in and around the arena to continue to recoup their investment they have made when Newark's revitalization around the Pru began. It is the opportunity for young people who love hoops and live in some of the toughest neighborhoods anywhere to really be a part of a sport they love, right in their own backyard.
The share house is a tradition filled with endless possibilities. While this one has higher stakes, bigger players, an international cast and an urban setting, the basic principal is still the same.
The possibilities and the imagination for all involved run wild, whether it is a short stint or an extended relationship. Regardless of the outcome, Monday's meeting was a fresh start for all, and one that has only upside for the new partners and all those around the Pru.
