I was at this game, and it was my first experience at the new Prudential Center. I'll start by saying that I was very impressed with the new arena. The cleanliness, flat screen TVs, food options, and design were very nice, in my opinion. Ok, so it's not in the nicest city in America, but I was able to park a few blocks away, and felt very safe with the police and fans around the area before and after the game.

That said, the Devils (and the NHL in general) are pricing themselves out of the market. I agree with the anonymous comment above, in that there were no more than 10,000 spectators at the game, regardless of the attendance figure given. I would have guessed 8,000. Further, based on the location of many empty seats, it is very clear to me that pricing is the issue. Many of the top tier seats (lower level, center ice - $200 on gameday) were taken, but I could not help but think that these are mostly corporate seats, or someone picking one game to attend with the premier seats. Behind the nets, the seats ($95-$110) were almost empty on both sides. In the mezzanine, it was even more obvious, as the first few rows (priced at $100 on gameday) were empty, but there was a modest crowd starting in row 5 or so (price drops to $65). In the upper level, where I sat, the sections were pretty full. My seats were $35, and while they were fairly high up, there was no way I was paying about triple that price for closer seats to casually attend a game.

As a former ice hockey player, it's sad to see the NHL struggle in this country. It seems to me that if people simply got more exposure to the game, the league would do a lot better. I have spoken to quite a few non-sports fans and casual watchers, and most seem to rank hockey high up in terms of sports being enjoyable and exciting to watch. They shy away from it, however, because they either don't understand rules of the game, or because they rarely get exposed. The NHL needs to build a fan base, but $100 ticket prices and lack of a significant national TV contract won't cut it. Maybe current pricing works in NYC, but it won't work in Newark. Sadly, I expect attendance to decline as the season goes on, as the Devils, and the league, have set the bar too high with their pricing.

i dont know what to feel right now about Devils attendance problems... my brother is optimistic about the numbers going up over time... I am more of a realist and the prices today to see a sporting event are astronomical

No more than 10,000 in the building. And that's with discounts on the $65 seats!