New York Liberty

Location

Brooklyn, New York, United States

Capacity

17,732

Opened

2012

Time zone

UTC -05:00 Eastern Standard Time (EST)

Barclays Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It sits partially on a platform over the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)-owned Vanderbilt Yards rail yard at Atlantic Avenue for the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). It is part of a $4.9 billion future business and residential complex now known as Pacific Park. The site is located adjacent to the renamed Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center subway station on the 2 3 4 5 B Q D N R routes, as well as directly above the LIRR's Atlantic Terminal. The arena is currently home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League. The arena also hosts concerts, conventions and other sporting and entertainment events. The arena competes with other facilities in the New York metropolitan area, including Madison Square Garden in Manhattan and Prudential Center in Newark. The arena and the Brooklyn Nets are owned by Mikhail Prokhorov's American holdings. The arena, initially proposed in 2004 when real estate developer Bruce Ratner purchased the Nets for $300 million as the first step of the process to build a new home for the team, experienced significant hurdles during its development. Its use of eminent domain and its potential environmental impact stirred up community resistance, especially as residential buildings and businesses such as the Ward Bakery were to be demolished and large amounts of public subsidies were used, which led to multiple lawsuits. The global recession of 2009 also caused financing for the project to dry up. As a result, the start of construction was delayed until 2010, with no secure funding for the project having been allotted. Groundbreaking for construction occurred on March 11, 2010, and the arena opened to the public on September 21, 2012, which was also attended by some 200 protesters. It held its first event with a Jay-Z concert on September 28, 2012.