Brett Yormark hoping to bring Nets marketing success to Islanders

Brett Yormark had six long years to "transition" the Nets from New Jersey to Brooklyn, longer than he and everyone else associated with the team wanted. It was difficult but it taught him and his team lessons that are now being transferred to the Islanders' move from Long Island to Brooklyn.

In an interview Metro, Yormark talks about how the Nets marketing and business culture has value for the Isles.

"My goal is that if Islanders fans love the Islanders on Long Island, or like them, rather, they’re going to love them here because we’re going to bring the best of what they’re getting there, here," Yormark said. "And when they get here, they’re going to see this. No different than what we said in New Jersey coming to Brooklyn. It’s an exciting time for everyone."

The Nets/Barclays Center team took over the Islanders business operations a couple of months back. So far, so good. Helped by a playoff appearance last season, the Islanders have sold 3,000 more season tickets this summer and seen 87 percent of last year's season ticket holders renew, despite the team's lame duck status.

The team opened its training camp on the Brooklyn ice and announced a number of things, including the design for the new locker room and plans for an Islander Team Store inside the arena. On Saturday, the Islanders will host the Devils in an exhibition game at Barclays. From what Yormark says, the ticket sales show that Brooklyn is embracing the Islanders. He tells Newsday that 25 percent of the 11,000 fans who bought tickets are from Brooklyn; 32 percent from Nassau and Suffolk.

There's another phenomenon at work, too. Anecdotal evidence suggests Nets fans are becoming Islander fans and vice versa.

• Islanders, Barclays Center forming relationship advantageous for both - Denis Gorman - Metro
• Brooklyn gets first taste of Islanders hockey Saturday - Neil Best - Newsday