Barclays Center

Barclays Center has a distinct, intentional odor. (AP)

A trip to the Barclays Center offers a wealth of neural stimulation: ample stimuli for the visual cortex, from Andray Blatche's point-center crossovers to the rare-but-thrilling dunks of Deron Williams and the many entertaining faces of Brook Lopez; auditory treasures from the sonorous chants of "Broook-lynnn" to the Warrior cries of Gerald "Crash" Wallace.

And then there is the olfactory system. According to a DNA Info source, Brooklyn's Barclays Center pumps in a "signature scent" into the arena, thanks to ScentAir.  The aroma is a a "fresh-smelling fragrance with citrus notes."

"(ScentAir) manufactures custom fragrances pumped into the air at theme parks, stores and hotels around the world. The odors function like mood music for your nose. They're meant to enhance the consumer experience and build brand identities."

Fans have chimed in with their take on Barclays' Odor, or B.O.

A fan on Twitter described the smell as that of a Calvin Klein Store , while another told DNAInfo that the aroma was akin to Axe Body Spray.

Josh Newman, who covers the Nets for SNY, finds the smell appealing, and attributes the added amenity to Nets owner and Russian billion oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov's spare no expense mentality.

"It's a brand-new building. They've spent over a billion dollars. [The scent] kind of goes along with the whole over-the-top nature of the building."

ScentAir said it couldn't discuss what it does or doesn't do for Barclays and arena officials declined to comment on the smell.

Read More: Leslie Albrecht DNAInfo New York - - Barclays Center's 'Signature Scent' Tickles Noses, Curiosity 

 

Bruce Ratner (AP)

Five New York City Mayoral candidates spoke out at a forum this week in Park Slope against Forest City Ratner, for FCRC's failure to build promised housing at the Atlantic Yards project site.

John Liu, Bill Thompson Sal Albanese, Bill de Blasio, and George McDonald threatened to penalize FCRC for the delays:... MORE →

 

The Nets aren't the only thing that traveled from NY to NJ to Brooklyn. (AP)

In its inaugural year, Brooklyn's Barclays Center will host the 2013 NBA Draft, the NBA announced today. The draft will be held on June 27th at 7 P.M., with tickets going on sale on the 22nd.

The draft was held annually at Madison Square Garden from 2001 until 2011, when it moved to Newark's Prudential Center (then-home of the then-New Jersey Nets) for the 2011 and 2012 draft.

“Brooklyn has become a major NBA market and basketball fans throughout the borough will be excited to welcome the next class of outstanding talent into the league,” Barclays Center and Brooklyn Nets CEO Brett Yormark said in a prepared statement. “Many of the borough’s greatest all-time players have been drafted into the NBA, making this night a perfect fit for Brooklyn. We are honored to host the 2013 NBA Draft as we continue to bring many of the most high-profile sports and entertainment events to Barclays Center.”

Barring a trade, the Brooklyn Nets will have the 22nd overall pick in the first round.

 

ESPN Sports Business reporter Darren Rovell reported on Twitter this morning that the Brooklyn Nets, who are encouraging their fans to wear black for the playoffs for a "Blackout in Brooklyn," are selling black t-shirts, for the price of $22.

To compare, in every year the Oklahoma City Thunder made the playoffs, the Thunder gave away new shirts for every single game to "blue out" or "white out" the arena, placing them on each seat throughout Chesapeake Energy Arena. Nobody ever paid for the shirts they were wearing to color the arena, according to Daily Thunder's Royce Young.

According to a fan who claims he spoke with the Nets ticket office this morning, they emphatically said the team would not be giving away t-shirts for the first playoff game. I spoke with the Nets ticket office later in the afternoon and a representative said they "can't release that information."

Nets CEO Brett Yormark tweeted on April 13th that the team would give away black shirts at the front door:

This is potentially another misstep in a season chock-full of marketing issues for Brooklyn:

  • Yormark tweeted that "changes must be made" after a Christmas Day loss with fans clamoring for Avery Johnson's head (Johnson was fired two days later).
  • The Nets shut down their clever, off-beat PR account, saying that it didn't fit with the "voice" the team was trying to represent, a decision met with widespread criticism.
  • As Norman Oder of Atlantic Yards Report notes often, the Nets promised 2,000 tickets priced at $15 for lower-income fans across Brooklyn, without coming through on that promise. Next year, they're $25.
  • The Nets playoff package is particularly shrewd (and that's the nice word): for partial-season ticket holder Erica Dagley, they allow you to "pay as you go" only if you commit to a "full-season" package for next season. Otherwise, you pay for all four rounds, including the NBA Finals, upfront. For two seats in the lower section, that amounts to roughly $5,300, for two seats in the upper sections, roughly $4,900. They'll refund you if the Nets lose before then, but you still have to cough up the dough ahead of time for four rounds to see the Nets once. Update: The plan seems different for different levels: half-season ticket holders are eligible for "pay as you go" with a renewal of the half-season plan, rather than an upgrade to the full-season plan.

My advice to the Nets: you want to create a real community in Brooklyn? Make people feel like you're inviting them to something. Don't make it about how much money you can take from the community now. Get them involved in a way that doesn't feel like you have to "buy in."

Brooklyn is a long-term game. You're here for a while. Take the hit. Give away the damn shirts.

UPDATE: Brett Yormark confirms that the Nets will give away shirts for Game 1.

 

Per ABC Go:

The one local sports team scheduled Monday night was the Brooklyn Nets, playing the Washington Wizards at the Barclays Center.

"The safety and security of our guests and employees at Barclays Center are of paramount importance," said Brett Yormark, CEO of the Barclays Center and the Nets.

"Barclays Center staff works very closely with the NYPD and other New York City agencies to ensure our stringent safety and security policies are strictly enforced."

The official policy on how to handle a bomb threat was readily available at the public relations desk in the media section. I'm not sure if that's a regular occurrence, but I've never seen it. Police officers were also outside the arena before the game.

UPDATE: ESPN reports that the Nets would not say whether security had been tightened. Some fans reported that there were more security measures; others said they didn't see a difference.

 

brettkaminsky7

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Barclays Center

Barclays Center (AP)

Since opening in September 2012 with a series of Jay-Z concerts, Brooklyn's Barclays Center has hosted such music visionaries as Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and Israeli violinist Itzhak Perlman. In August, Barclays Center will continue its dedication to the aural arts when it hosts its first major cultural awards show.

M.T.V. announced today that The Black House will host the 30th installment of the MTV Video Music Awards (or VMAs) on August 25th, because Jay-Z. ... MORE →

 

Barclays Center Labor Dispute

The labor dispute protest sign in front of Barclays Center. Rat at left.

The Brooklyn Nets are on an eight-game, 17-day road trip, and it's no accident: Barclays Center has welcomed the circus to town, hosting Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey while the Nets travel to Detroit, Dallas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland, Denver, Utah, and Cleveland.

The circus coming to town doesn't just bring a show: it also brings controversy... MORE →

 

The Daily News reports  that 120 carpenters, upset they are not being paid as well as their Madison Square Garden counterparts, planned to vote on  Wednesday to stop paying dues to their union, SEIU 32BJ. The move would be the first step in an expected move to de-certify the union.

MSG employs six to 15 full time carpenters who are paid $46 an hour and earn roughly $70,000- $80,000 a year. In addition, the world's most famous arena has 20-40 part time carpenters, depending on arena needs.

Meanwhile, the Barclays Center carpenters are all part time workers who earn $14 an hour without benefits.  Their job at Barclays is to convert the arena from a basketball venue to a concert hall. To add insult to insult, they must work 400 shows, a figure that would take four years to amass, in order to qualify for health benefits.

32BJ official Elaine Kim says  that the union is working hard to improve conditions but there have been "natural growing pains" which will be resolved "as the agreement matures and the venue continues to have events."

Many of the Barclays carpenters would like to join the New York City Distrcit Council of Carpenters, the union that represents the MSG conversion crew and helped build the new Barclays Center. The union has asked for Forest City Ratner to create several full time positions, but FCR spokesman Joe DePlasco said, "Right now, these conversion jobs are by their very nature part time."

President of the carpenters union, Stephen McInnis, doesn't understand.  "We have a long history of working with them, but they’ve been pretty much adamant on this. They came up with an offer but it was easy to refuse. When you look at a comparable facility like The Garden, they weren’t even in the ballpark.”

No word yet on how the vote went. This isn't the first report of Barclays center employee unrest.

 

From a press release on Shake Shack's official website:

Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG) is proud to announce it will open its second Brooklyn Shake Shack in Fall 2013. The new Shack will make its home at 170 Flatbush Avenue, just a three-pointer and slap shot away from Barclays Center—NYC’s exciting new entertainment destination and home of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and NHL’s New York Islanders (2015).

“Our second Brooklyn location will be directly across from the Barclays Center and plant us firmly within walking distance of several neighborhoods from Park Slope to Fort Greene,” said Randy Garutti, Shake Shack CEO. “New York City is our hometown, and the Shack will be the place where New Yorkers can come together to celebrate the best of Brooklyn’s thriving culture, sports and entertainment.”

170 Flatbush Avenue is directly across the street from Barclays on Flatbush, just south of Pacific Street.

Today is a great day in Brooklyn history.

 

Mos Def, Spike Lee

Mos Def (center) with Spike Lee (AP)

Brooklyn-born MC Yaasin Bey, better known by his old moniker Mos Def, is not happy with Barclays Center getting plopped down in downtown Brooklyn, criticizing the Atlantic Yards Project both in an interview and a poem.

From Vulture... MORE →