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January 19, 2009
Will the Nets Ever Move To Brooklyn?
The Biz of Basketball
by Matt Wiesenfeld
It wasn't that long ago that the Nets were perceived to be a team on the come. Vince Carter came to town and Jay-Z was sitting court-side giving them the kind of 'cred' generally reserved for the Knicks and Lakers. Building on top of this was talk of a brand new arena as part of a revitalization project in Brooklyn, which hasn't hosted a major sports franchise since the Dodgers left 50 years ago.
However the recent news on this project leaves many in doubt that it will ever be completed. The project calls for several high rise buildings in addition to the proposed stadium and its progress and challenges are well documented on Atlantic Yards Report.
Further clouding the issue, according to the New Jersey Star-Ledger, is that the Nets have announced that they are negotiating to play some preseason contests at the Prudential Center in Newark, leaving some to speculate that it could be a potential landing point for the franchise. What this might do to the Atlantic Yards project is not clear though it would not be a huge leap to think this is an indicator that the team believes the project might never be completed.
NoLandGrab: The Nets have since said they were not considering the Prudential Center, which, given their track record, means they very likely are considering it.
Posted by eric at January 19, 2009 4:14 PM