Bruce Springsteen's 'Wrecking Ball' tour crew builds practice stage at Trenton's arena
TRENTON -- The sound and stage crews for Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band are at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton today fine-tuning equipment in advance of the group's Wrecking Ball Tour, an arena spokeswoman said.

Springsteen and other band members were not inside the arena this afternoon, said Jen Grinspan, a marketing director for the Sun National Bank Center. She declined to say if they were expected to use the arena as practice for the tour, which kicks off in Atlanta March 18.

"At this time it's just the production in the building. No rehearsals with Bruce or the E Street Band," said Grinspan.

The exterior of the arena was quiet yesterday with little indication of activity, save for a few large trucks parked outside. But inside the sound and stage crew was "weighing equipment" and developing a "grid system" that would support the entire production, Grinspan said.

She couldn't say how much longer the crew would be there or how long they've been working on their stage production. Over the weekend, however, photos of the stage emerged on Twitter taken by people attending a cheerleading event at the arena.

Springsteen's upcoming tour coincides with the release of his Wrecking Ball album.

Following an initial performance at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, the rock star and his band are scheduled to come to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia March 28 and 29, with performances at Madison Square Garden in New York April 6 and 9. Three New Jersey shows have been announced so far: April 3 and 4 at the Izod Center in East Rutherford and May 2 at the Prudential Center in Newark.

A security guard at the Sun Center confirmed that the building was sealed up, rented privately and closed to all unauthorized people.
- QUELLE