The arena was closed Friday after city officials said they failed to receive proper documentation from the New Jersey Devils, the building's owner, on improvements to be made to the smoke alarm system.
The decision to close the $380 million arena, which opened in October, was made by Neil Midtgard, the city's construction official.
The Prudential Center has been operating under a temporary certificate of occupancy since opening in October 2007, which has been renewed at regular intervals.
According to Julien X. Neals, corporation counsel for Newark, the terms of the CO required the Devils to provide complete documentation on additional work scheduled to upgrade the smoke alarm system by midnight Thursday.
The Devils plan to add more smoke detectors to the building and upgrade a pressurization system in the stairwells that will more effectively ensure that smoke flows away from the stairs.
Though Neals stressed that the smoke alarm system is fully functional, the arena has been paying firefighters to stand at stairwells during events.
"The system is fully operational," Neals said. "This was a timing issue. It could have been prevented if the plans had been available earlier."
Devils owner Jeff Vanderbeek did not return a call for comment Friday.
Employees were not let inside the arena Friday morning. A sign taped to the entrances of arena read: "You are hereby ordered to vacate said premises. As of 7/11/2008, no individual is to occupy this building until the structure is rendered safe and secure."
The next scheduled event at the arena is July 16.
There has been at least one other run-in with city code enforcement officers. In March, the city ordered the center to halt work because it was installing a pedestrian bridge without proper permits.
