USA Today got inside Barclays Center this week for one of, if not the last, media preview of the arena. Between now and early September, workmen will be finishing up the remaining 25 percent of the arena as well as the Transit Connection, which has only about 10 percent left. It's all part of the roll-out strategy, a peek here, a peek there, what Jay-Z has called the arena's first big advantage: the unexpected.
So far, the strategy has worked. USA Today reports that since the Nets unveiled their new corporate identity three weeks ago, the team has sold more than $4 million worth of tickets and 2,000 non-premium season ticket plans. Seventy-five percent of the 104 suites have been sold. At the NBA Store and NBA.com, the Nets lead in sales of team-themed merchandise.
Asked the difference between the Nets new arena and the Knicks renovated Madison Square Garden, Bruce Ratner replied, "There is nothing like new. The first thing is new. You can renovate your house. But there's nothing like a brand new house." The next stage of the rollout: dance rehearsals for the Brooklyn Nets dancers.
- First look: Inside Brooklyn Nets new $1 billion arena - Michael McCarthy - USA Today
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Brooklyn's Barclays Center sits atop venues rankings months before opening - Justin Goicochea - Ticket News
- So You Think You Can Dance? Prove It Next Saturday - New York Times
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New-look Nets Dancers to host open auditions in Brooklyn - Rich Calder - New York Post