In construction circles, "topping out" is a big deal. It's a ceremony held when the last beam is placed at the top of a building. That ceremony took place in Brooklyn Thursday as 500 construction workers gathered with Bruce Ratner and officials the various contractors who work on Barclays Center.

The arena is still seven and a half months from completion --and eight and a half from opening night-- but Thursday marked the erection of the last of 10,400 tonnes of structural steel at the billion dollar arena. Ratner told the workers, "In just eight months we will open Barclays Center and bring many exciting events here, where your hard work will be appreciated by millions of people for years to come".

The Nets provided 1,000 free tickets for weekend games to the construction workers.

• Barclays Center 'tops out' - Rich Calder - New York Post