April 12, 2010: The NBA's New Jersey Nets lose to the Charlotte Bobcats, 105-95 at the Izod Center. It is the last sporting event played at that arena.
The Nets got 22 points from Devin Harris, and 21 from Terrence Williams. But the Bobcats had a more balanced attack, getting at least 10 points from 7 different players.
This was the Nets' last home game at the arena, at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, Bergen County, New Jersey, that had been their home since 1981. It was known as the Brendan Byrne Arena from then until 1996, for the Governor of New Jersey who got it built.
A vengeful Republican legislature, angry that he had signed the State's 1st income tax law into place, removed his name, replacing it with that of a corporation. At least it was one based in New Jersey: Continental Airlines. If Byrne was hurt, he didn't show it in public, saying, "I was immortal for 15 years." In 2007, the building was renamed the Izod Center, after the clothing company. In 2012, Continental Airlines was also no more, bought out by United Airlines.
The NHL's New Jersey Devils were much more successful there, moving in for the 1982 season, and staying until 2007. The Devils won the Stanley Cup in 1995, 2000 and 2003, and reached the Finals but lost in 2001. The Nets had several good teams, and several terrible ones. But they won the NBA Eastern Conference, and hosted the NBA Finals, at the Meadowlands in 2002 and 2003, and also won the Atlantic Division in 2004 and 2006.
In 2003, the Arena hosted both the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals. The only other arenas that have done that in the same year are the Boston Garden (1957, 1958, 1974), the current Madison Square Garden (1972, 1994), The Spectrum in Philadelphia (1980) and Chicago Stadium (1992). No, Los Angeles has never done it. The San Francisco Bay Area has, in 2016, but not in the same building.
The Arena also hosted Seton Hall University basketball, and in 1996 was the site of the NCAA Final Four, the only Final Four held in the New York Tri-State Area since 1951.
But two levels of seating with one level of concourse doesn't work, and the location was only good for people coming in cars. The Devils moved to the much more convenient Prudential Center in downtown Newark in 2007. The Nets were bought by Brett Ratner in 2004, and he planned on moving them to a new arena in downtown Brooklyn. One thing led to another, and the Nets ended up playing the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons at the Prudential Center, before finally moving into the Barclays Center, and changing their name to the Brooklyn Nets.
The Meadowlands Arena still stands, having been converted into a TV production studio.
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April 12, 2010 was a Monday. There were 10 other games played in the NBA on that day:
* The New York Knicks beat the Washington Wizards, 114-103 at Madison Square Garden.
* The Miami Heat beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 107-105 at the Wachovia Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.
* The Toronto Raptors beat the Detroit Pistons, 111-97 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan.
* The Orlando Magic beat the Indiana Pacers, 118-98 at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (It's now named the Gainbridge Fieldhouse.)
* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 104-96 at the Bradly Center in Milwaukee.
* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 133-111 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. (It's now named the Frost Bank Center.)
* The Denver Nuggets beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 123-101 at the Pepsi Center in Denver. (It's now named the Ball Arena.)
* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 117-94 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. (It's now named the Crypto.com Arena.)
* The Houston Rockets beat the Sacramento Kings, 117-107 at the Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento. (It's now named the Sleep Train Arena.)
* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 103-95 at the Moda Center in Portland.
The NHL was between the regular season and the Playoffs. And the NFL was out of season. There were 12 Major League Baseball games played:
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals, 7-4 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-1 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Florida Marlins, 6-5 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. (It's now named Hard Rock Stadium.) Scott Rolen singled home the winning run in the top of the 10th inning.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-7 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Mark Teahen tripled home the winning run in the top of the 11th inning.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-2 at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Nelson Cruz won it with a home run in the top of the 10th inning.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers, 10-5 at Comerica Park in Detroit.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 9-5 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-2 at Target Field in Minneapolis.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Astros, 5-0 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Adam Wainwright and Jason Motte combined on a 7-hit shutout.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Atlanta Braves, 17-2 at Petco Park in San Diego.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-3 at AT&T Park in San Francisco. (It's now named Oracle Park.)
* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-0 at Safeco Field in Seattle. (It's now named T-Mobile Park.) Justin Duchscherer and 2 relievers combined on a 2-hit shutout.
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