Slowly but surely, our MAAC Madness series moves on today, with a look at the Prudential Center in Newark, affectionately known to New Yorkers and North Jerseyans as "The Rock." Along with Atlantic Yards and, to a lesser extent, the Meadowlands, The Rock is one of a few NYC venues that could host the MAAC tournament in 2012-14. 

Here's the rundown: 

Arena: Prudential Center

Attendance in past tournaments: NA

"Host" school: Saint Peter's

"Host" school's 2007-08 average men's attendance: 1,160 (last in the MAAC) 

Local newspapers: The Star-Ledger (345, 130 daily, 500,382 Sunday), The Record  (163, 329, 195,525)

Driving distance from league schools: 

404 miles (six hours, 37 minutes) from Niagara

384 miles (six hours, 16 minutes) from Canisius 

158 miles (two hours, 42 minutes) from Siena

90 miles (one hour, 49 minutes) from Marist 

68 miles (one hour, 26 minutes) from Fairfield

34 miles (49 minutes) from Iona

24 miles (36 minutes) from Manhattan 

48 miles (one hour, seven minutes) from Rider

181 (three hours, 14 minutes) from Loyola

Average distance: 154 miles (two hours, 35 minutes)

The Skinny: I got a comment on our last post from a reader who was angry about the comments Barry Melrose made about Newark, and about my failure to elaborate more on what he said. For clarification -- and for a look at the reaction to Melrose's comments -- this is what I was referring to. (The cliffnotes version for those uninterested in watching the TV clip: Melrose, ESPN's lead NHL analyst before he took over this spring as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, said on the air that The Rock is a nice arena but "don't go outside, especially if you have a wallet, because the area is awful.)

Melrose subsequently apologized, and as he eventually said, the area around the arena is really nice, with a few good restaurants and bars. It's also right across the street from Newark Penn Station, making the commute easy on either Amtrak or Jersey Transit. 

If I had a seat at the table, I'd certainly vouch for the quality of the arena and the area of the city it's in. The issue is whether The Rock would be a better location than Atlantic Yards, and I'm not sure it is. The average driving time from league schools is slightly shorter to The Rock, but I've got a feeling that fairly or unfairly, a lot of fans would prefer to go to Brooklyn over Newark, because of the Big City feel that comes from being east of the Hudson and because I bet (though, to be sure, I haven't done any polling) people have a more positive feeling about Brooklyn than they do about Newark. 

And one last issue worth mentioning: I listed Saint Peter's as the "host" school because the Peacocks play right next door in Jersey City and played a home game at The Rock last year against Rider (at which there were very few fans of any kind, but more Rider fans than Saint Pete's fans), but the Peacocks' absolutely abysmal attendance figures effectively make The Rock a neutral site. That doesn't necessarily hurt Newark's chances, but if Saint Pete's had enough of a following to add a few thousand fans per session to the attendance figures, The Rock might be a more attractive site.