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As MSG partners with Newark's Prudential, NYC arena market tightens into face-off with BSE

The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE:MSG) and Prudential Center announced today a booking and marketing partnership that will bring together MSG's unique and world-renowned expertise with the world-class facilities and location of Prudential Center to attract even more top concerts and attractions to New Jersey. This new agreement harnesses the power of two leading venues in the industry to bring elite entertainment acts to Jersey, as well as solidifying the state as a premier destination for the world's top performers.
...As Prudential Center closes in on its 10th Anniversary in Newark this fall, the mission of the organization remains the same - to unify the people, communities and businesses around the state of New Jersey through the power of sports and entertainment. Ranked among the Top 10 buildings in the United States, The Rock is coming off one its most successful years with hosting over 40 shows, including 20 sold out concerts and events, highlighted by Bruce Springsteen setting a new building attendance record.
The upshot, as Billboard put it, Deal aligns New Jersey arena with Dolan & Azoff as "venue wars" heat up.:
The agreement aligns the Newark venue -- just across the river from New York -- with Dolan, Irving Azoff and Tim Leiweke as the venue wars between Azoff MSG Entertainment and AEG continue to heat up. Earlier this year, Billboard reported the two sides were duking it out over the Los Angeles market....
...New York is also an uber-competitive battleground between the two companies, with AEG making a number of strategic investments in the Big Apple, including the purchase of Bowery Presents earlier this year and the acquisition of Manhattan’s Webster Hall with Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, which operates the Barclays Center and Nassau Coliseum.
The Prudential Center’s agreement essentially divides the greater New York market in two, with AEG and BSE on one side and MSG and Prudential Center on the other. The Prudential Center is also a member of the Oak View Group’s Arena Alliance, created by Leiweke and Azoff, with nearly 30 arenas in the U.S. and Canada.
And a new arena?

Note that, as reported by Newsday, the Oak View Group is working with the owners of the New York Islanders, who are exploring the possibility of a new arena at Belmont racetrack:
The Islanders are being advised by the Oak View Group, a company backed by Madison Square Garden that develops, manages and provides content for sports arena nationwide. Sources say the Islanders and Oak View have been engaged over the last year in discussions with the Wilpon family, the majority owners of the Mets, about being involved in the Belmont arena.
I've expressed significant doubt about such an arena, given the cost of building it, paying off construction, and then competing with existing arenas.

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