The Worst Basketball Stadium According to the Fans

Stadiums play a big role in the overall experience for fans watching a game. After all, there is a lot more to it than the game itself. Basketball, and US sports in general are now a big show, in which the “overall experience” includes everything from getting to the stadium, the food and facilities there, and the atmosphere generated by the fans. With regard to this, the worst basketball stadium, according to the fans, is the Izod Center. In this basketball scoreboards feature, I will tell you why.

The Izod Center is the home stadium for the New Jersey Nets. The first stadium ever built for the Nets in 1981 was known as the Brendan Bryne Arena. Later, it was named as the Continental Airlines Arena and then after being taken over by a clothing company, Izod, it came to be known as the Izod Center. There are many reasons why the Izod Center is disliked by fans.

1) Arena – The Izod Center’s arena is very cramped i.e. there is not much space and also there are a very few luxury seats. The limited space is an impediment for setting up sufficient food and drinks stalls.

2) Location – The Izod Center is not located in an area which can be travelled to very easily. It is located in a place where even mass transit is unavailable. Only people who are willing to drive to the Izod Center can reach easily otherwise it will be a difficult feat if you want to see a match at the Nets’ home arena.

3) Attendance – Partly because of the difficulty of reaching the arena, it rarely fills up. Plus, the New Jersey Nets is not a very good team and not so many fans are willing to make the trip to watch them play. With the basketball scoreboards showing a 20,000 capacity, the stadium averages only 15,000 fans a game.

4) Competition – The New Jersey Nets sometimes faces teams like the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers which are generally considered as better teams. Whenever the Nets meet a stronger team the attendance in the arena is even lower than the average which takes away all the enthusiasm from the game.

5) Owners – YankeeNets is the owner of the New Jersey Nets. The owners themselves are not interested in doing much for the team, except that they have demanded that the projected new arena will be partially public funded.

6) The team – Often the players seem to suffer from motivation problems. They lack the required zeal and enthusiasm, which is why they have been unable to lift their team as well as their game.
Serious measures are required to make this stadium attractive and lively if the Nets want to keep their fans coming to watch them play. A new arena may well be on the way, so let’s hope that it will bring something good for the team as well as the game!

Source:
https:/­/­commons.wikimedia.org/­wiki/­File:Izod_Center_(6805294221).jpg

For more information, go to:
//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_National_Basketball_Association_arenas