Barclays Center Offers Separate Seating for Orthodox Jews

There’s a first time for everything.

With world-renowned Israeli violinist Itzhak Perlman set to take center stage at Barclays Center for a February 28th concert, The Huffington Post reports that the arena has crafted a plan to allow separate seating for the Jewish men and women who find it customary to do so.

There will be a section of divided-aisle seating which will cost $50 per seat. The rest of the arena seating is open to anyone else.

It is believed that this separation will be the first of its kind in all major sports and entertainment venues. Jewish Barclays Center majority owner and developer Bruce Ratner said that to his knowledge, the anticipated arrangement was a first.

“Being in Brooklyn and being an arena that caters to such diversity, the opportunity to do things different than elsewhere is enormous,” Ratner told The Huffington Post.

Ratner, who is Jewish and a fan of liturgical music, said marketing to the strictly observant is worth a try. He said he will soon discover whether the demographic is “too niched.”

With the enormous Jewish population that calls Brooklyn home, the apparent seating arrangement that the arena plans to implement can only help future relations between Barclays Center and the large market of Jewish consumers.