Trenton’s CURE Insurance Arena has undergone some serious renovations in the past couple years. Now it has a modern concourse that should keep it viable for years to come.
TRENTON — If Central New Jersey really exists, and NJ Gov. Phil Murphy has tweeted emphatically that it does, there may be no better evidence than the CURE Insurance Arena.
Seating between 7,000 and 11,000 people for everything from games to concerts to graduations, and situated in the heart of the Garden State and its capital city, Trenton, the arena has stood for over 20 years as a central landmark on the state’s entertainment map.
Wikipedia even calls it “the largest arena in Central New Jersey,” and it has been known to draw fans from around the region, including Bucks County.
But by 2018, 19 years into its existence, the arena was in the midst of a protracted identity crisis. Its core tenant, the Trenton Titans minor league hockey team, had moved out in 2013, and the arena’s concourse had not been updated since the building opened in 1999.
By 2019, though, after a swift renovation of the concourse, CURE put itself back on the map in its customary place: Right in the center. Except its relevance even transcended New Jersey.
Pollstar, a trade publication for the concert industry with more than 17,000 followers on both Facebook and Twitter, ranked CURE as the 12th busiest arena in the U.S. for venues with seating capacities of 10,000 or less. The publication also listed the Trenton facility as the 100th busiest arena in the country and the 171st busiest in the world for arenas of all sizes. (Pollstar tracked arena ticket sales from November 2018 to November 2019 and released its rankings in December 2019.)
The CURE Arena was not ranked at all in 2018.
It was a “considerable jump,” said Nick Conte, the marketing manager for Spectra Venue Management, which operates the arena.
“We wanted to give the venue a fresh look as it ages, as our company does at any other venue we manage,” added Spectra general manager Fran Rodowicz, referencing Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, the Liacouras Center on the Temple University campus in Philadelphia and the PPL Center in Allentown, three prominent regional venues that Spectra also oversees.
That “fresh look” has been the key to CURE’s resurgence, the GM said. But in 2018, the arena looked anything but fresh.
Its concourse had an old, fading concrete floor, no electronic screens, blank walls and no cool local restaurants, just the conventional concession stands with the same unremarkable hot dogs, burgers, popcorn buckets and soda fountains.
So Rodowicz and the Spectra team moved to renovate the concourse first and foremost. But like with any project, they needed money. So they submitted a five-year capital plan to Mercer County for upgrades to the arena, and the county accepted the plan in 2018.
“We had funding available from the county,” he said.
It was enough to replace the concrete floor with an epoxy material that is colored by a blue, black and white mixture.
They also added an electronic screen outside of every seating section and next to each concession area, with the screens displaying the arena’s upcoming schedule, the concourse’s food options, videos from the current event and various advertisements.
Officials brought in two classic local restaurant brands, Chickie’s & Pete’s and DeLorenzo’s Pizza, to replace the generic concession stands. Chickie’s has two locations along the outer bowl and DeLorenzo’s has one.
Two Chickie’s & Pete’s locations have been added to the concourse’s food options. pic.twitter.com/Z86x2fFTy9
— Jarrad Daniel Saffren (@JarradSaff) January 21, 2020“Better food options makes for a better experience,” Rodowicz said. “It leaves a better taste in our patrons’ mouths, no pun intended.”
But during a tour of the concourse last month, Rodowicz and Conte were quick to emphasize the deeper historical core of their project: The four murals to the venue and city that they commissioned from a local artist.
One mural shows Ronald Berman, the Trenton real estate developer whose “vision made this arena a reality,” according to a sign on the mural. Berman, who died in 2018, is standing before a rendering of his vision, the arena and the Roebling Market, a nearby Trenton shopping mall that he also developed.
A series of murals dedicated to the history of the arena and city are also now on display. This one honors Ronald Berman, whose “vision made the arena a reality,” according to a sign on the mural. pic.twitter.com/GiFwo8Urbr
— Jarrad Daniel Saffren (@JarradSaff) January 21, 2020Another mural shows John A. Roebling, whose steel wire manufacturing company made its home on the CURE Arena site for more than 100 years from 1849 to 1974. John A. Roebling Sons Co. crafted the steel wire for the Brooklyn Bridge, the George Washington Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge, among others, so naturally, Roebling is painted before a suspension bridge.
The other two murals function more as collages or compilations of Trenton history.
One features a silhouette of George Washington and the Continental Army crossing the Delaware River and colored paintings of two iconic Trenton symbols: The city’s golden domed capitol building and its “Trenton Makes The World Takes” bridge.
This mural is an ode to Trenton’s history, from George Washington crossing the Delaware to the famous bridge. pic.twitter.com/cbuKB98seC
— Jarrad Daniel Saffren (@JarradSaff) January 21, 2020The other has a silhouette of Bruce Springsteen, Mr. Central Jersey himself, who has also performed at CURE; a silhouette of former Sacramento Kings NBA player Malachi Richardson, who is from Trenton; and a painting of the Trenton Thunder minor league baseball stadium, Waterfront Park, behind them.
“There were some wood treatments around the columns that were concrete before, and it was cold,” Rodowicz said. “The murals create a bright look on the concourse to make it more welcoming and warm.”
The GM said more concourse upgrades are planned for 2020, including a grab and go food area and perhaps a couple more branded concession stands. But he also said the next phase of development will be inside the actual arena, including a new scoreboard and roof, new LED lighting and potentially new seating.
“It’s going to continue to be an asset for Central Jersey,” Rodowicz said of the venue.
In 2019, CURE hosted between 90 and 100 events. In its heyday with the Trenton Titans from 2000 to 2013, it held about 130 events a year.
The goal, Rodowicz said, is to get back to that level, and to perhaps go beyond it.
“Every day I’m on the phone saying, ‘Hey, let’s bring a concert here,’ and we have to keep plugging away,” Rodowicz said. “We’d love to be busy 365 days a year.”
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CURE Arena upgrades bring Trenton venue center stage - Bucks County Courier Times
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