Newark Council Vote Would Pave Way For $295 Mil Venue

New Jersey-based YankeeNets Corp. is awaiting the outcome of Newark council meetings regarding a rezoning decision that would make a new $295 million, 18,500-seat arena possible.

If the new arena is given the go-ahead, it will house the New Jersey Devils (National Hockey League) and Nets (National Basketball Assn.).

The proposed site must be re-zoned from industrial to entertainment and sports.

"We need the OK before we can proceed," said Courtney Higgins of Newark Sports and Entertainment. "We will not choose an architect until then."

A decision, however, could be several months away. A spokesman for Newark mayor Sharpe James declined comment.

Officials with the YankeeNets, the holding company of the baseball and basketball teams, have pledged to move the Nets and the Devils to a new arena in Newark.

Advocates of the plan say the building will help transform Newark into a regional destination.

There is debate, though, over the plan to connect the arena to Newark's Penn Station with an enclosed walkway. Although the arena is expected to rejuvenate Newark's economy, urban planners say it would deter visitors from other areas, including Newark's historic district.

There also are concerns the arena won't be built at its slated location, requiring visitors to walk through an isolated area to get to the venue.

But Newark Sports LLC, a division of YankeeNets, and Edison Properties LLC, the main landholder of the proposed Newark arena, reached an agreement to develop a downtown sports and entertainment district, clearing the way for the commercial development also advocated by Edison Properties.

The agreement allows the proposed arena to retain its planned location next to Penn Station. An additional development, to be built by Edison Properties, and to include parking, television studios, office space and educational facilities, is also proposed for the space.

Both the Devils and the New Jersey Nets now play at Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, N.J.