With New Jersey Nets ownership starting to ramp up ticket-sales efforts for the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, it’s apparent how they’re positioning the team: pretty much the opposite of everything associated with Madison Square Garden and the Knicks.
That may not be a bad strategy: after all, the Knicks hiked ticket prices by some 50 percent for most ducats for next season, and by positioning themselves down the road as an affordable alternative, the Nets are setting up a nice contrast. The design of Barclays Center is also a direct contrast to the Garden, which is a fortress (though it should be less of one when renovations are completed): by comparison, the new Brooklyn arena is light and airy, providing street-level views of the scoreboard.
To their credit, neither side is trash-talking the other; it’s a small world in the NBA, and while two will undoubtedly bump heads over free agents and high-profile sponsorships, New York City is one of the few cities we can see where two arenas five miles apart can thrive.
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