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August 21, 2012
Nets–Barclays Center Story: The DVD Extras
New York Magazine
by Will Leitch
The author of yesterday's Nerf-ball story on the Barclays Center analyzes his own reporting.
Our big feature on the Nets and Barclays Center, after months of fits and stops, finally ran in the magazine this week. We hope you enjoy it. Even at 4,000 words, there were lots of observations and narrative potpourri we couldn't fit in there, so we thought we'd throw it in this here post.
...• We talked to a ton of people for this story, but without question, the most pleasant and affable person we talked to was ... Bruce Ratner. The controversial — to say the least — real estate magnate is not known for this warmth and cuddliness, but in all honesty, his aw-shucks demeanor was disarming, to say the least. (This is not entirely because he thought our son was cute, though he did and that never hurts.) We don't know if he'll be happy with everything that's in the story, but for a guy who had a whole theatrical documentary made about how awful he is, we were surprised by how likable we found him in person.
Practically like "an angel sent from God."
• Note that the story consistently refers to the new building as "Barclays Center" not "the Barclays Center." The Nets insist on this nomenclature, so we stuck with it, but we're not sure we buy it.
We're still calling it THE Barclays Center.
• Oh, about hockey: The Nets insist that even though the arena is almost cartoonishly incompatible for hockey, they will be making a big push for the New York Islanders when their lease is up. And they won't have to change anything about the building either. “We think we can get a hockey team without any major adjustments,” CEO Brett Yormark told me.
Related coverage...
Curbed, Building a Super-Premium Arena for a Booming Boro's Brand
There's a strong possibility that, even with Jay Z cheering from the super-premium Vault Lounge membership seats, the Brooklyn Nets will still suck at basketball, despite the geographic move from Jersey.
Brooklyn Heights Blog, Barclays Center: What Does It Mean For 21st-Century Brooklyn?
Posted by eric at August 21, 2012 12:04 PM