By Holly Dutton
Brooklyn is in the house. That was the theme of the event and repeated multiple times by public officials as they marked the opening of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn Sept. 21, unveiling the 675,000 s/f arena after seven years of planning and constructing.
Bruce Ratner, the Forest City Ratner chief executive behind the Atlantic Yards project of which the arena is part, used the event to announce work on the first apartment building will get underway on December 18. Half of the units in the 350-unit tower will be affordable.
The building is the first in the $4.9 billion Atlantic Yards project, which will turn 22 acres in downtown Brooklyn into residential apartments and condos, office and retail space situated in 15 towers.
Speaking at a packed media opening, Mayor Micahel Bloomberg said, “This is going to send a loud and clear message that Brooklyn has arrived.”
The Barclays Center and Atlantic Yards project is expected to bring the city $400,000 in annual tax revenue, said the mayor. The brand-new multi-use Barclays Center will host the new Brooklyn Nets, marking the borough’s first professional sports team since the Brooklyn Dodgers left the city for Los Angeles in 1957.
In addition, the center will host events such as college basketball playoffs, gymnastic events and concerts by Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand, Neil Young and Justin Bieber.
Borough president Marty Markowitz thanked “all who made my dream and the dream of many Brooklynites” come true by bringing a professional sports team back to Brooklyn.
The Nets ended their last season in New Jersey in 2012, after Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov purchased a majority stake in the team for $200 million in May 2011. The team officially moved to Brooklyn in April.
“I assure you, we are bringing a team worthy of this great arena and this great borough,” said Prokhorov during the opening press conference.
Located at the corner of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues, the arena has the capacity to seat 18,000 people for basketball games and up to 19,000 for concerts.
The center will hire 2,000 people for various positions in arena operation, guest service and food services areas.
“Real estate does have the ability to be transformative, to create change and quality of life,” said Charles Ratner, CEO of Forest City Ratner. “That’s why we love being a part of this project.”
Opening night is Sept. 28, with the first of eight sold-out concerts featuring rapper and Brooklyn native Jay-Z. The Nets inaugural game will be at Barclays Nov. 1 against the New York Knicks.For more photos go to www.rew-online.com
