Dear Brooklyn it’s been a long time coming but let the countdown begin. Today marks one month, that’s 30 days, until the highly anticipated opening of Barclays Center. The billion dollar arena opens its doors to the public on September 28, 2012. Jay-Z will kick off the opening with the first of eight concert series. It’s only right, right? Click below to read more.
After almost a decade in the making, the much-anticipated Barclays Center will be opening its doors on Sept. 28.
Actually Jay-Z will be opening the doors with the first of an eight-concert series at Barclays, which sits at the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush avenues in downtown Brooklyn.
The completion of the 675,000-square-foot arena has been a long time coming for developer Bruce Ratner, who overcame one hurdle after another on the long road to Barclays Center.
“There were a lot of challenges along the way,” Brett Yormark, CEO of Barclays Center and the Brooklyn Nets, told Metro. “The economy, ongoing litigation that existed here in Brooklyn for the project, the NBA lockout and an eroding fan base in New Jersey all worked against us.”
“But at the end of the day, we overcame,”?he said. “It was Bruce Ratner’s vision that kept us all going. He made a big bet on Brooklyn, and I’m glad to see it coming to fruition.”
The $1 billion arena, which Yormark describes as “urban chic,” was designed specifically with the borough of Brooklyn in mind.
“It was really important to the design concept that this building had a very strong link with the context,” said arena developer Chris Sharples of SHoP Architects.
