The landing was the result of a scheduling snafu, a Prudential Center spokesman said. Watch video
NEWARK -- It wasn't what they expected as they were preparing to take the field Sunday night.
According to parents of the STA U13 youth soccer team, security personnel cleared the field at St. Benedict's Prep in Newark at 7:15 p.m., about 15 minutes before their sons' game against the Cedar Stars Pre-Academy team was supposed to start. The two teams are part of an elite soccer league, STA coach Sean Sweeney said.
The landing was the result of a scheduling snafu, a Prudential Center spokesman said. (Courtesy STA team parents) The chopper, parents said they were informed, belonged to N.J. Devils co-owner Josh Harris. It was supposed to land on the field and wait for Harris to come from the Devils game at the nearby Prudential Center, they said.
But, Sunday night's Devils game went into overtime. By about 8 p.m., the parents and coaches said they decided to just cancel the game.
"I've never seen anything like that before," said Bruce Miller, an STA parent from Livingston who said he and his son got to the field at about 6:45 p.m.
"Is this really the only place in Newark that someone can land a helicopter?"
STA parents said they have never played a game on the St. Benedict's field before, as it is one of the fields rented by the Cedar Stars. Neither the school nor the Stars returned a call requesting comment, but according to the team's website, it has been partnering with the private school since 2014.
According to a Prudential Center spokesman, Harris regularly uses the field as a helipad, as do other helicopters that land in the area. Generally, he said, the helicopter landings are scheduled through the school so they don't conflict with other field uses.
The STA team. (Courtesy Sean Sweeney) Sunday night's game interruption was caused by a scheduling hiccup that Harris did not know about, the spokesman said.
Still, Sweeney called the interruption "quite disappointing."
"We have great, supportive families who invest a lot of time and money into their kids playing soccer...Many traveled quite a distance to the game, and they had to just turn around and go home." The coach said the game will be rescheduled, likely at a different field.
Harris plans to reach out to the players affected by the helicopter landing and invite them to a Devils game to help make up the time lost, the spokesman said.
Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
