Continental Airlines Arena

Lore & Background

The arena opened in 1981, originally built to accommodate the New Jersey Nets basketball team. In 1982, the relocated Colorado Rockies hockey team became the New Jersey Devils and joined the Nets at the venue. In 1985, the Seton Hall Pirates men's collegiate basketball team began playing its home games at the arena. In 2007, the Prudential Center opened in nearby Newark as the new Devils home arena. The arena hosted the 1996 Final Four, the last Final Four to date held in an arena specifically built for basketball. On January 15, 2015, the NJSEA voted to shut down Izod Center.

Reader's Guide

The arena is located on New Jersey Route 120 across the highway from MetLife Stadium and the Meadowlands Racetrack, next to the American Dream shopping and entertainment complex. Since closing, it has been used as a rehearsal venue for large-scale touring concert productions and as a sound stage for video and television productions. Since 2018, NBC has leased the venue to film prime-time drama series including The Enemy Within and Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector. It is also home to The Equalizer, Tales of the Walking Dead, and The Walking Dead: Dead City.

Did You Know?

• The first event at the arena was a series of six concerts by Bruce Springsteen in July 1981.
• The arena hosted the NBA All-Star Game in 1982 and the NHL All-Star Game in 1984.
• Continental Airlines paid $29 million over 12 years for naming rights, announced in 1996.