The Nets are thinking globally...and expect to arrive in Brooklyn in 2012. In the meantime, they will be acting locally, as in Newark. And Newark is thinking about them, too, despite that temporary address. Some see it as an audition for a new NBA team in New Jersey. Others are just happy to have a team downtown.
It's not as if the team hasn't spent time in Newark in the past. "They’ve done good things in Newark for years, and they’re doing more now that they’re here," Salma Muro, chief executive of the Boy and Girls Clubs of Newark, tells the Times. Specifically, the team has worked with community groups to sponsor youth leagues, holiday parties for children and other events, including a free basketball clinic in Branch Brook Park.
So far, so good. The team has sold 2,800 new season ticket packages (but won't say how many of their old customers have renewed). One question: as the team gets closer to Brooklyn, will renewals be harder to come by?
- Newark Gives Nets a Happy if Temporary Home - Richard Perez-Pena - New York Times
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Madison Square Garden Is World's Second-Busiest Arena - Ken Belson - New York Times