Stones to Play in Newark, Not Brooklyn or Manhattan

The Rolling Stones announced on Monday that they would not play Madison Square Garden,  nor the Barclays Center,  in December as part of a series of four concerts to mark their 50th anniversary.  Instead they will play two nights at the Prudential Center in Newark, on Dec. 13 and 15.

The announcement was setback for Barclays, which had been in negotiations with the Stones to get the two coveted concerts, according to people with knowledge of the talks.   The band had first approached Madison Square Garden, but that arena, which has been undergoing renovations and has a tight calendar, did not have two dates available in December, officials there said.

The Stones made the announcement in a video posted on their Web site, saying they had decided to do four shows in “two cities that know how to rock.”  The first shows will be at the 02 Arena in London, which is of course the band's hometown, on Nov. 25 and Nov. 29.