Sounds like buyer’s remorse, but they are right, the seats suck. I’ve gone to a half dozen games there and ended up standing above the second because my seat was too uncomfortable. You can’t sit three six foot tall adults together in those corner sections because there simply is not enough leg room. It sucks. Like the Devils. Boooo Devils.

Posted by Scotty Hockey from NY on 07/02/09 at 02:43 PM ET

Maybe they didn’t come pre-equipped with paying butts in them. 

Actually, if they are uncomfortable, I’m sorry.  I wonder if the company was using older specifications or something - I know that a lot of public facilities are dealing with issues of how to structure seats and legroom as the American public gets larger, and I wonder if that isn’t part of the problem.  Still, you would think there would have been a floor model seat that everyone could test before the contract, so I wonder what went wrong.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/02/09 at 02:51 PM ET

Are the Devils trying to stuff just about everyone associated with their new arena? I seem to remember something from several months ago about utility hookups not paid for, and the city threatening to turn the water off…

Posted by Forechecker from Nolensville, TN on 07/02/09 at 03:27 PM ET

I had season tickets in the $20 section the first season.  they were extremely narrow, and since we were in the first row, we had zero legroom between the seat and the glass wall.

I’m looking for the picture I took, but basically the legroom between the glass wall and the seat when it was down was the length of a 16 oz bottle of water…

Posted by Exit56 from NJ on 07/02/09 at 03:27 PM ET

I had season tickets in the $20 section the first season.  they were extremely narrow, and since we were in the first row, we had zero legroom between the seat and the glass wall.

I’m looking for the picture I took, but basically the legroom between the glass wall and the seat when it was down was the length of a 16 oz bottle of water…

Posted by Exit56 from NJ on 07/02/09 at 04:27 PM ET

Interesting - usually you find very little legroom and small seats in older buildings.

I wonder if they were trying to jam in more customers, the same way that parking lots make spaces narrower to fit more cars in the same surface area.  If they did, that stinks.  There is enough data out there on how people don’t like getting cramped and it makes them cranky - they should have known better.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/02/09 at 03:33 PM ET

Found the picture..  This was opening night vs. Ottawa:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/exit56/3681942703/

Posted by Exit56 from NJ on 07/02/09 at 03:33 PM ET

Here’s a bit more info from the article that might explain what happened a bit better:

Irwin Seating’s attorneys allege that the Devils at one point insisted that the company install all the seats in just eight weeks — only half the amount of time allegedly agreed upon.

“Irwin was told to do ‘whatever it takes’ to complete the installation so the Prudential Center could open in time for the fall hockey season,” attorney Paul McCusker wrote.

Constant interference by other trades, excessive changes of schedules and other issues led to substantial extra costs to Irwin Seating, the suit alleges.

But the Devils contend that Irwin Seating previously has admitted to performing some substandard work, then ceased its efforts when it found that the problems could not be resolved.

The Devils have had to make “substantial modifications” to many of the seats, according to the suit. The team removed cup holders, for instance, in many of the upper-level seats to alleviate some of the seating crunch.

Among the complaints by fans cited in the lawsuit:

ä “This is not the world-class arena you were promoting in advertising.”

ä “The seats are smaller and lower than those in the Meadowlands.”

ä “The seats were way too narrow.”

Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 07/02/09 at 03:36 PM ET

Exit56, maybe they should post “for sub-compact people only’ on the inside of the boards.

Heck, that looks awfully tight.

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 07/02/09 at 03:36 PM ET

Found the picture..  This was opening night vs. Ottawa:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/exit56/3681942703/

Posted by Exit56 from NJ on 07/02/09 at 04:33 PM ET

Wait a minute.  Is that mezzanine or concourse seating?  It doesn’t look like regular seating.

However, if it IS regular season, I definitely see the aggravation as legit.  That’s ridiculously cramped seating.

Posted by SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 07/02/09 at 03:44 PM ET

However, if it IS regular season...

Ugh...I meant,

However, if it IS regular seating…

Posted by SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 07/02/09 at 03:45 PM ET

That’s Section 209, Row 2, Seat 5.

Posted by Exit56 from NJ on 07/02/09 at 04:14 PM ET

Thanks for the picture.  That is completely insane.  No wonder everyone is annoyed.  I’m a petite person and that would be a very tight squeeze for me.

Imagine being told there was a new arena, and your ticket price was going up, but it was shiny and new and would be worth it - and then it’s like an adult trying to squeeze into one of those grade-school desks with the table attached to the armrest.  Ugh.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/02/09 at 04:24 PM ET

Yep...seats in the Pru aren’t very roomy but that’s typical of a new arena (the “cram” factor).  However...the arena wasn’t full when I went there and the game had playoff indications.  Still...who want’s to watch the Devils play anyway...unless you’re REALLY drunk?  Being in Newark is punishment enough.

Posted by stoneman from Vegas on 07/03/09 at 01:58 AM ET