Opening night is two weeks away but the first "piece" of Barclays Center, its $76 million Transit Connection, opens 8 a.m. Monday. (No entrance plaza access.) The link to nine subway lines and the LIRR will bring fans from all over the area to the arena. The numbers tell one part of the story...

The station is 4,700 square feet, with a grand stairwell (leading to the arena plaza) that’s 26 feet wide. There are two escalators, one elevator and 14 turnstiles. More than 350 new signs point to locations inside and outside the station, which incorporates over 1,500 tons of structural and reinforcement steel. Fifty-four foundation pylons stretch an additional 40 feet down into the ground.

But the numbers tell only one part of the story. "We want this to be magical," says MaryAnn Gilmartin,Bruce Ratner's No. 2. "The canopy, oculus, all of this is part of what will define Brooklyn for the next century. The cost, originally budgeted at $29 million, grew and grew as the number of improvements underground required more investment. It's all paid for by Forest City Ratner.

• First look at the $76 million Barclays Center subway station - Jason Sheftell - New York Daily News