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Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, Mikhail Prokhorov’s holding company, announced Monday that renovation of the Paramount Theatre, Brooklyn’s Jazz Age jewel, is set to begin this fall, with an anticipated opening before 2019.
The Paramount, at the northeast corner of Flatbush and DeKalb Avenues on the LIU campus, is a few blocks from Barclays Center. The renovation is expected to cost $50 million.
Events at the theatre will feature music, comedy, boxing, and more. The venue will have a capacity of up to 3,000. The flexible seating configuration will accommodate primarily general admission-style setups, with the opportunity to also do seated floor events. The venue will open loge level seating, and will feature premium VIP areas.
The Paramount was opened in 1928. It hosted acts including Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie before Long Island University bought the building in 1962 and transformed it into a gym and multi-purpose space. LIU is leasing the building to Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment.
“We are eagerly anticipating the construction beginning on the LIU Brooklyn Paramount Theatre,” said Brett Yormark, CEO of BS&E. “This team has a track record of delivering spectacular venues, as evidenced by Barclays Center and the newly reopened NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.”
BS&E is the Prokhorov holding company for Barclays, Nassau, and now Paramount. It recently moved to partner with AEG and The Bowery Presents to acquire the operating rights and assets to Webster Hall in Manhattan’s East Village. It also operates the Brooklyn and Long Island Nets as well as the HSS Training Center.
Prokhorov has been selling assets in Russia and now has more assets in New York than Moscow. He’s also accumulating cash reserves, Bloomberg News has reported.
- LIU-Brooklyn Paramount Theatre renovation to begin this fall - Brooklyn Daily Eagle