April 1999

Plans for Devil's Arena In Hoboken Submitted to State

Despite widespread community opposition, the owner of the New Jersey Devils, John McMullen, has submitted his proposal to the state for a hockey arena atop the historic Erie Lackawana Terminal. Governor Whitman is expected to decide by this summer on competing proposals for where to build new homes for the New Jersey Nets and New Jersey Devils. Unlike the other two options, one for Newark and the other for a new Meadowlands arena, McMullen says he will build the Hoboken plan with only $30 million in public funding. The Newark proposal calls for $100 million in public money. The New Jersey Sports and Exhibition Authority proposes $72 million of state funds as part of its proposal.

McMullen, who has been invited by the owner of the New Jersey Nets to become part of the proposed Newark sports complex, exclaimed that he had no interest in moving his team there. McMullen has been expressing dissatisfaction with the current arrangement at the Meadowlands where the lack of luxury boxes and inability to derive income from retail shops has driven him to propose building his own arena rather remain as a tenant On March 11, McMullen unveiled his proposal to Governor Whitman for a $350 million "Hoboken Station" with 18,500 seats and 244,000 square feet of stores, restaurants and theaters. His plan includes 100 luxury boxes and 3,000 club seats. McMullen described Hoboken as the "best urban site in the region." His plan, he said, is designed as an entertainment complex that would attract people even when there are no games or concerts to attend.

On March 21, 1999, the New York Times, published an article regarding the unwelcome reception the hockey arena has received in Hoboken. The following is excerpted from this article:

"Is he crazy or what?" asked Charlie Raso, 71, a retired truck driver who has spent his entire life in Hoboken. Like many residents, Mr. Raso says the town is already suffering from too much of a good thing: too many bars, too little parking, soaring real estate prices and so many new faces that he and his wife feel like foreigners when they walk down Washington Street. "We need this thing like I need a hole in the head," he said.

When McMullen first unveiled his plans for Hoboken last spring, the Environment Committee of Hoboken conducted a survey regarding the community response. Eighty-one per cent of the respondents thought it would not be good for Hoboken to build the hockey arena over the Hoboken Terminal. Only 13% thought it would be good for the town. The bulk of the written comments offered up by the respondents to this survey concerned the traffic congestion and parking problems that the arena would bring.

In April of 1998, John McMullen traveled with Hoboken Mayor Anthony Russo, Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler and developer John Cali to Washington, D.C. to lobby legislators for up to $300 million for a new roadway to the Jersey City waterfront. This highway would run along the old Bergen Arches to Route 280, avoiding Manhattan-bound traffic headed for the Holland Tunnel. In May of 1998, Congress passed the federal Transportation Equity Act which included a $26.5 million commitment to this project. The highway would connect to Washington Boulevard in Newport Center which would lead to the parking garage at the south end of the proposed sports complex. McMullen and Russo exclaimed that this highway should silence the critics who contended that the traffic would overwhelm Hoboken before and after a sporting event.

All of the local advocacy groups in town, the Coalition for a Better Waterfront, the Environment Committee of Hoboken, Hoboken Alliance for Lower Taxes and the Quality of Life Coalition, remain unconvinced that this new highway would solve the problems that this stadium would create. They have all vowed to launch a campaign to defeat the Devil's arena for Hoboken.