In interviews with Sports Business Daily and Sports Business Journal, Brett Yormark laid out a number of changes to the arena that will be evident when fans enter the building again on November 1.
--There will be a second Nets team store with entrances on the main concourse and the street. While the first store features Adidas gear, the second will be about Mitchell & Ness "lifestyle apparel," said Yormark.
--Two other new retail tenants with street access will open, Let's Yo!, a frozen yogurt shop, and The Sugar Factory, a candy store, both off the main concourse.
--Inside, Levy expanded the "Taste of Brooklyn" franchise by adding more food items and increasing the number of vendors tied to that initiative from 37 to 55. SBJ reported that on a per capita basis, no arena has greater food sales than Barclays.
--There will be improvements to the arena's clubs.
"From a building perspective I think it’s a period of refinement versus change," Yormark told SBD. "We want to build on some of the things that truly defined us – our programming mix … our local taste platform, which is our food and beverage …. Lastly, we want to continue to differentiate customer service."
Yormark also said the team now has 13,000 season ticket holders, up from 11,000. He expects that will increase the number of sellouts, which last year totaled 26. "Our building capacity is 17,700, and rolling up to that number with a base of 13,000 is pretty easy at this point in time."
The Nets CEO also spoke about how Islander fans had convinced him, via their reactions on Twitter, that the Islanders colors shouldn't be changed and the opportunities afforded by the CBS Radio deal
- 20 Minutes with Nets and Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark - Jillian Fay - Sports Business Daily
- Nets opening another team store at Barclays - Don Muret - Sports Business Journal
- CBS Radio-Nets deal far more than rights - Don Muret - Sports Business Journal