Venue News: NBA Draft Heads to New Jersey

The National Basketball Association announced this week that it will hold the 2011 draft in Newark, NJ, at the Prudential Center on June 23. “We are delighted to bring one of the NBA’s premier events to Newark,” said NBA Commissioner David Stern. “The Prudential Center is a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose arena that will be a great host for another exciting NBA draft.” The Newark Star-Ledger had reported that next year’s draft would not be held in Madison Square Garden because the venue will be undergoing renovations at the time…

…The World Series will have its Arlington, TX, debut Saturday, just three months before the Super Bowl and a couple of blocks away. But, for many local planners, the championships are intertwined in ways that belie the great differences between the sports and the stadiums. More than three years of Super Bowl preparations have provided organizers with valuable lessons in handling Arlington’s first taste of the World Series. And in some cases, officials are using the Rangers’ playoff run to test elements that will help the NFL’s big game run more smoothly Feb. 6 at Cowboys Stadium…

…After eight people died in a stadium stampede, Football Kenya Limited (FKL) has ordered the immediate shutdown of the Nyayo National Stadium and the City Stadium. “To ban these stadiums from all football activities is the best decision,” FKL Chairman Mohammed Hatmy told BBC Sport. FKL claims City Stadium management has failed to comply with directives to bring the venue up to FIFA standards. The Kenyan police are digging into the stampede that occurred at a league match between popular sides Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards, even though the stadium was not full…

…Northwestern University says it will look into renovating its football stadium and basketball arena as well as upgrading the rest of its athletic facilities and adding new ones. The school has commissioned Populous Architects — formerly HOK — to start next month devising a plan to be presented in the spring. In a statement, Athletic Director Jim Phillips calls the study “a monumental milestone for Northwestern’s Department of Athletics and Recreation as well as our entire campus.”