Senator Gerald Cardinale

April 29, 2009   

Contact: Bill Murray / (609) 292-5199
Senator Gerald Cardinale

Senator Gerald Cardinale, R-Bergen, asked Governor Corzine, in a letter sent today, to intercede and negotiate an end to the conflict between the supporters of the Izod Center and the Prudential Center.

“The Izod Center and the Prudential Center are two world class venues that New Jersey should utilize to its full advantage. The governor should use his office to negotiate an agreement with the operators of both arenas that would benefit all the parties involved. To do any less would be a grave disservice to the taxpayers who subsidized both projects.”

The letter from Senator Cardinale to Governor Corzine follows:

April 29, 2009

Honorable Jon S. Corzine
Governor of New Jersey
Executive Offices
State House
Trenton, New Jersey 08625

Dear Governor Corzine:

I am deeply concerned about the escalating conflict between supporters of the Izod Center in the Meadowlands and backers of the Prudential Center in Newark. Allowing a destructive rivalry between these two arenas would be a great disservice to New Jersey’s taxpayers, who subsidize both sites and want to ensure that neither becomes an expensive burden to the state.

An agreement must be reached quickly to ensure that both of these venues are profitable and producing the maximum possible returns to the taxpayer and to their respective communities. Strong leadership at the executive level may be the only thing that will prevent a divisive, factional feud that will profit no one and create ill will for decades to come.

Cooperation, not destructive rivalry, is vital between managers of these two arenas. A properly structured proposal would promote a complementary relationship between Prudential and Izod that could be used to attract larger conventions or events than either could win individually.

A mutually beneficial relationship between the two arenas would maximize the taxpayers’ considerable investment. Such an arrangement would also strengthen the businesses in both Newark and the Meadowlands that depend on these areas, a vitally important consideration in this economic climate.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this issue. I look forward to speaking with you on this subject in the near future.

Sincerely,
Gerald Cardinale

Senator Gerald Cardinale, R-Bergen, asked Governor Corzine, in a letter sent today, to intercede and negotiate an end to the conflict between the supporters of the Izod Center and the Prudential Center. “The Izod Center and the Prudential Center are two world class venues that [...]