Bruce Ratner: arena = "fortress real estate" because it can't be duplicated easily, has REIT-like qualities

There are a couple of interesting nuggets in the 3/15/13 CNBC Squawk Box interview with Forest City Ratner Chairman Bruce Ratner, focusing on Nassau Coliseum Getting a Facelift.

"It's more exciting than I thought it would be," Ratner said of the Barclays Center. "I knew it would be great, never thought it would be this great. It's become an icon almost overnight, in eight months. It's amazing. It has to do with everything: it has to do with the team, the architecture, Brooklyn, it all really did come together in the kind of way that I think was almost unexpected by most people. I knew it would be special, this special I didn't expect."

It has to do with the team, or the rebranding?



The need for competition

One host, mentioning how Madison Square Garden's exterior hasn't changed--actually, the interior makeover approaches $1 billion--asked, "isn't it important to weave competition in this market for big events in New York City?"

"This is an area that's 16 million people, the tri-state area. you have to have competition," Ratner responded. "And if you think about it, having basically one arena can't serve everybody... and that's what this created. and, of course, the brand is critical. The Brooklyn brand, the idea of an arena, which is iconic looking, that's important too. Everything is really new and up to date on our arena and that's what really makes a difference."

You have to have competition. That's a huge irony, given the story of the Atlantic Yards project--in which the city and state agreed to back Ratner's plan from the start.

Arena = "fortress real estate"

One host asked, "Are you surprised by the fact that live sporting events and concerts continue to draw such premium prices?"

"No, I'm not at all surprised. and I realized that for a long time," Ratner responded. "It is all about content. Content, content, content. Whether it's sports or content or concerts and live is critical. So I realize that and having an arena is a very special thing because I use the word fortress. It's fortress real estate in a way. meaning it is something when you create it that can't be duplicated easily. Look, in almost half a century, this is only the second arena after MSG in an area this large."

That's why a non-competitive process seems more glaring.

Arena like a REIT?

Ratner added, "I will say arenas today because they are in some sense franchises and they are live content, my guess is that they sell in the REIT [real estate investment trust] category. They're like REITs almost. That's the kind of multiple, I think."

What are the attributes of REITs? According to REIT.com:

REITs are required to distribute at least 90 percent of their taxable income to shareholders annually in the form of dividends. Significantly higher on average than other equities, the industry's dividend yields historically have produced a steady stream of income through a variety of market conditions.
In addition to the investment performance and portfolio diversification benefits available from investing in REITs, REITs offer several advantages not found in companies across other industries. These benefits are part of the reason that REITs have become increasingly popular with investors over the past several decades.
REITs' reliable income is derived from rents paid to the owners of commercial properties whose tenants often sign leases for long periods of time, or from interest payments from the financing of those properties.
Most REITs operate along a straightforward and easily understandable business model: By increasing property occupancy rates and rents over time, higher levels of income may be produced. When reporting financial results, REITs, like other public companies, must report earnings per share based on net income as defined by generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
In short, REITs over time have demonstrated a historical track record providing a high level of current income combined with long-term share price appreciation, inflation protection, and prudent diversification for investors across the age and investment style spectrums.

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Today's big story: the Barclays Center's "signature scent"

Apparently the Barclays Center, like some other sports venues, mists a "signature scent" (citrus-y, clean, depending on whom you asked)  to enhance the visitor experience, as DNAinfo reports in a story that got picked up widely, including by Deadspin, The Atlantic Wire, and Racked (where a commenter says it gets pumped outside the Calvin Klein VIP entrance).

While Leslie Albrecht's article quotes a sports reporter at SNYNets as saying, "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," Ball Don't Lie's Kelly Dwyer is more skeptical:

The Nets have declined comment on the fragrance, and for good reason – even the best of press release mavens would have a hard time accurately describing why, exactly, one would decide to pay to have scented air pumped into Barclays Center, much less describing the scent in un-mockable terms and explaining why it’s fit for the team’s arena.
...No, the Barclays Center should naturally smell like the high end artisanal pretzel rolls and craft brews it offers its patrons, and not some imperceptible, “citrus” (which is a descriptive word all of us go for when we have no idea what a certain wine, cigar, or perfume smells like) odor that the Nets are paying for on top of the four years and $89 million they’ll pay Joe Johnson between last summer and 2016.
It’s their arena, their money, and their ventilation options. We’re just wondering why this ownership group even bothers, for just a first round team.

Well, that's likely because the arena has many more events than Nets games.

Neil deMause of Field of Schemes writes:

It’s only fitting that the Nets are resorting to this, given that they were among the first franchises [in 1997]  to pipe in fake crowd noise to make it sound like fans were actually cheering.

We'll see if any other story about the Barclays Center--like its "signature noise leakage" and consequent fine--gets such play.

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So, is Atlantic Yards a wise example of cost-cutting (as per Observer)? Not exactly, since new arena cost not much off Gehry-era projections

The 5/14/13 New York Observer's article, PATH/Fail: The Story of the World’s Most Expensive Train Station, addresses the endless cost overruns in the Lower Manhattan project and presents a purported counterpoint:

In the private sector, these things often turn out differently. Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn is one example. Despite Bruce Ratner’s “man crush” on Frank Gehry, in the words of one of his employees, and the nearly $100 million in fees that he paid for the design of the undulating apartment towers and stadium, Mr. Ratner didn’t hesitate to drop the starchitect from Atlantic Yards when the costs got too high—costs that were partly the result of Mr. Gehry’s insistence on designing the interior elements down to minute details like the stadium seats, something that should sound familiar to the Port Authority.

While it's quite possible Ratner would have paid Gehry $100 million for the entire project, I highly doubt Gehry took in $100 million.

Looking more closely

More importantly, Gehry was not dropped mainly because of his fees, or because of his desire to design interiors. The arena was once supposed to be 850,000 square feet, and could've accommodated hockey and basketball equally. It was downsized to 675,000 square feet, and focused on basketball.

Yes, the arena got smaller and thus less expensive. But also significant was Ratner's need to decouple the arena from the four towers planned around it. Once Ratner recognized he couldn't finance and build those towers simultaneously as originally planned, there was no need for all the buildings to share mechanicals with the arena.

Also, the growth in cost of the arena was attributable in part--though not in whole--to the overall growth in construction costs. The entire project went from $2.5 billion to a projected $4.9 billion.

A "billion-dollar arena"?

Gehry's arena was initially $435 million in 2003, then $637.2 million at approval in 2006, and then $950 million in 2008. One factor: the cost of glass needed for security.

So, they shrunk the arena and what do they have? A "billion-dollar arena." Forest City executives call it a $934 million project, which "covers the cost of this building, the transit connection, the site work, etc." Construction of the arena itself cost

As I've written, documents cite $617.3 million in hard costs for arena and transit connection construction, and $192.85 million for soft costs, plus $34.7 million in additional costs. That's nearly $845 million.

How do they get to $934 million? Unclear.

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Moving on: Margolin, Barclays Center head of food and beverage services, leaves for Anaheim arena

From the Anaheim Blog, 5/15/13, Honda Center Hiring 500 Employees for New Food and Beverage Co.; Julie Margolin Named Director of Food & Beverage Services:

ANAHEIM, Calif. (May 14, 2013) – The Honda Center announced today its plan for hiring more than 500 workers to become part of an industry-leading sports and entertainment organization. Interested parties are urged to go online to www.hondacenter.com to apply for a position and schedule an interview. Thousands of applicants are anticipated and appointments will be confirmed on a first-come, first-served basis beginning immediately.
...Leading the new food and beverage operation will be Julie Margolin, the venue’s new director of food and beverage services. Margolin most recently worked for Levy Restaurants at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. There she was part of the opening team, oversaw the food and beverage service for that facility and launched a number of unique programs which saw unprecedented success during their first year. Prior to that time, Margolin was an integral part of the food and beverage operations at STAPLES Center and Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Universal CityWalk.

I doubt Margolin has quite the array of local vendors--from newfangled to classic to ethnic--to work with in Anaheim as she did in Brooklyn, though there are certainly a substantial number.

But her departure hints that others who manage the Barclays Center may be recruited by other arena operators. Just not the person responsible for sound insulation.

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What happened to the "B market" along the arena's Atlantic Avenue facade? Not a word; the area instead seems needed for egress, not commerce

Yesterday's post showing the arena as approved in the November 2006 Final Environmental Impact Statement includes a curious mention that has likely been forgotten by most arena-watchers: a "B market" along Atlantic Avenue at the north-center of the arena block. See emphasis on graphic.

What's a "B market" (or, as I've described it, a "b-market")?

It came up once, as far as I know, in a 9/25/06 City Planning Commission hearing, which I covered the next day.

Reflecting commission Chair Amanda Burden’s micromanaging concern that there be storefronts along Atlantic Avenue near the planned arena, the Department of City Planning's Regina Myer described a “b-market,” a narrow strip of retail to accommodate smaller shops.

The New York Observer had reported 11/22/05:

“City Planning is really on this one,” [then-arena architect Frank] Gehry said. “Amanda Burden is really working us and we believe in what they want but the idea of creating storefronts on Atlantic Avenue–there’s not much depth to deal with.”

What happened?

The B market never materialized--and maybe it wouldn't have, even if the arena had not been redesigned to present a narrower east-west facade. (No one's mentioned it at any meeting, as far as I can recall.)

Today, a good stretch of the Atlantic Avenue arena facade is apparently needed for egress. Note six sets of doors--in the foreground and background--in the photo at left.

Perhaps once towers emerge along Atlantic Avenue there will be more foot traffic, and the existing businesses built into the Atlantic Avenue facade--Metro PCS and Elbow Room--will benefit. Right now, they've appeared quiet when I've walked by during non-event times.

But there's no room for a B market. Could there be some food carts or other vendors? Maybe, but the strip of sidewalk is already pretty narrow.

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As graduates gather today on residential Dean Street, remember how it morphed from preferred seating entry to "mid-sized" portal

EmblemHealth Dean Entrance

The crowd gathering at 8:30 this morning at the Barclays Center's Dean Street entrance--sorry, the EmblemHealth Dean entrance--for the Long Island University commencement ceremonies was never supposed to be there.

(The graduates will arrive at the Dean Street entrance at the bottom of the arena, which is across the street from a residential cluster, while a larger group--their guests--arrive at the main plaza, at Atlantic and Flatbush avenues.)

That's because, when the Atlantic Yards arena was approved in 2006, there was a minor entrance, only a few doors wide, on Dean Street, only slightly larger than the entrance on Atlantic Avenue just west of Sixth Avenue.

EmblemHealth Atlantic Entrance

See the graphic below from the November 2006 Final Environmental Impact Statement, which shows an arena oriented nearly east-west, as opposed to the current north-south orientation.

The Dean Street entrance, part of a plan designed to "minimize its presence and effect on the residential uses" in the area, was supposed to be for VIPs.

Instead, thanks to a change in plans and some fuzzy and misleading language that I'll address below, it became a much larger secondary entrance--in fact, the secondary entrance, deemed "mid-sized" by an arena official.

So now, as indicated in the photo above right, the Dean entrance has nine double doors. (That's actually more than the seven double doors on the main plaza, though they are spaced more generously and offer far more opportunity for people to gather.)

By contrast, as shown in the photo above left, the EmblemHealth Atlantic Entrance has just two double doors. (There are several other doors on Atlantic, as I'll explain below, but mostly for exits, not entrances. Dean Street also offers another set of doors for workers to enter.)

The arena as approved, 2006

From Figure 1-22 of the Final Environmental Impact Statement, Nov. 2006. Atlantic Ave. at top, Dean St. at bottom.

From the Final EIS

According to the November 2006 Final Environmental Impact Statement issued by the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), Executive Summary:

The New York City Zoning Resolution prohibits arenas within 200 feet of residential districts as some of the operations could be incompatible with districts limited primarily to residential use. (Arenas are permitted in most commercial districts allowing for residential use.) The arena block is adjacent to a residential district to the south, and accordingly, the arena has been designed to minimize its presence and effect on the residential uses on these blocks. Primary entrances and signage would be oriented toward the crossroads of two major commercial thoroughfares and away from these residences. Two primarily residential buildings (Buildings 2 and 3) on the arena block would occupy most of the Dean Street frontage, serving as a buffer between uses. However, the preferred seating entry and entry to the loading area would be located on Dean Street and, while security screening and loading functions would take place entirely within the building, the residences along this street would experience some localized adverse impacts. 

(all emphases added)

Note that there was no statement about where workers would enter, which turned out to be Dean Street.

Also note the misleading notion of "primary entrances" oriented toward the commercial crossroads. There's only one primary entrance.

The term "primary entrances" was again used in Chapter 3, Land Use:

GEICO Main Entrance: seven double doors (+ Starbucks)

As also noted above, the arena has been designed to avoid and minimize operational effects to the extent feasible on adjacent and on-site residential uses by orienting the primary entrances and signage along Atlantic and Flatbush Avenue away from such residences and locating all servicing activities (e.g., deliveries, screening) internally.

But Chapter 8, Urban Design, more accurately described one primary entrance and other secondary entrances:

The arena’s primary entrance would be located at the Flatbush and Atlantic Avenue intersection; secondary entrances would be located on Atlantic Avenue and Dean Street.

Calvin Klein VIP Entrance, Atlantic Ave.

This left the impression, not inaccurate based on the graphic above, that the secondary entrances on Atlantic and Dean would be roughly commensurate in size.

A change in 2009

Then things changed, when the arena was redesigned and shrunken, part of a revised project plan re-approved in 2009. According to the ESDC's June 2009 Technical Memorandum:

The VIP entry to the arena would be relocated to Atlantic Avenue, although an entrance from Dean Street would remain.

According to the Technical Memorandum:

The proposed access and circulation reconfigurations would not create any notable changes to the site’s urban design; while the VIP entry to the arena would be relocated to Atlantic Avenue, a secondary arena entrance on Dean Street would remain.
...Although the arena’s VIP entry would be relocated to Atlantic Avenue from Dean Street, this would affect only a relatively small number of arena pedestrian trips, and a substantial change in pedestrian flow patterns is not anticipated. There would continue to be a secondary entrance for arena patrons located on Dean Street as assumed in the FEIS.

The shift is understated, but it's significant.

Dean Street loading dock, worker entrance at left near
EmblemHealth Dean Entrance

Yes, "a secondary entrance" would remain, though at least some language in the Final EIS left the impression that the only function as of 2006 of the Dean entrance was for preferred seating, leading to the not unreasonable conclusion that the shift in the locations for VIPs would mean no functions for Dean shift.

Note that a "preferred seating entry" is not the same as a "secondary entrance."

Again, there was no mention of where the workers would enter--and, for that matter, go across the street to smoke, hang out.

The oprating arena


As I wrote in June 2012, then-arena General Manager John Sparks estimated that between 70-75% of arena visitors would enter the arena from the arena plaza (with new subway entrance), 5-10% of the crowd, mainly suiteholders, would enter on the VIP entrance on Atlantic Avenue, with another 5-10% going through small entrance on Atlantic near Sixth Avenue.

Atlantic Avenue exit doors

Sparks also said that the “mid-sized” entrance on Dean Street would accommodate arena staff--estimated at 800 people for major events--as well as some 20% of attendees, which could mean 3,600 people.


In other words, Dean Street, though clearly secondary to the plaza entrance, was by far the largest of the secondary entrances.

The photo at left shows two clusters of three double doors on Atlantic Avenue--on in the foreground, another down the block--used only to exit the arena.

Flatbush Avenue near Dean Street exit

That makes nine sets of double doors on Atlantic, counting the two entrances (VIP and EmblemHealth), but, again, only to exit. There's too little room on the sidewalk outside to make it a plausible entrance.

At right is the "secret"--as in unrevealed in documents, as far as I know--exit from the arena at Flatbush Avenue just west of Dean Street.

Going forward

It will be interesting to see what happens when, as noted in the FEIS, "two primarily residential buildings (Buildings 2 and 3) on the arena block would occupy most of the Dean Street frontage, serving as a buffer between uses."

Presumably those residents--adding significantly to the Dean Street population--will have their own concerns about Barclays Center crowds in the morning and evening, and surely even greater concerns if the arena can't solve the problem of bass penetrating nearby residences.

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Polytechnic Institute of New York University holding commencement at Barclays Center, morning of May 23

A week after Long Island University (LIU( is holding its commencement at the Barclays Center, so too is Polytechnic Institute of New York University, based at MetroTech with arena developer Forest City Ratner. Unlike LIU, NYU-Poly, as its known, is not giving an honorary degree to arena developer Bruce Ratner.

Nearly 7000 people are expected at event Thursday, May 23, which begins with more than 1000 graduates arriving at 8 am at the entrance on residential Dean Street.

The schedule

8:00 A.M. Graduates arrive –All graduates will enter for the processional at the Emblem Health Dean Street Entry (Southeast corner of arena on Dean Street)
8:00 A.M. All guests of graduates with appropriate tickets must enter directly through the GEICO Main Entry. Several guides will be available to assist guests
9:00 A.M. Ceremony begins with the processional
11:15 A.M. Ceremony concludes (approximate time)

The merger backstory

As noted in the press release below, NYU-Poly, formerly the independent Polytechnic University, is on track to fully merge with NYU to become the NYU School of Engineering in 2014. That merger, first described as an affiliation, was unsuccessfully challenged in court, with a decision coming in 2009.

However, the absorption of the Brooklyn institution by NYU might be seen as a very savvy acquisition, not only adding the engineering school NYU desperately needed, but also acquiring property--existing buildings and air rights--needed for NYU's growth.

The press release

Back in Brooklyn
NYU-POLY COMMENCEMENT RETURNS TO BROOKLYN AT BARCLAYS CENTER; GRANTS HONORARY DEGREES TO NOTED PHYSICIST S. JAMES GATES AND JOSH S. WESTON, LEADER OF ADP AND FIRST
NEW YORK, May 14, 2013 – A short ride on the B63 from the park recently named for Adam Yauch, the Beastie Boy who crowed “No Sleep ‘til Brooklyn,” Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) is “Back to Brooklyn.” This year will mark the first time in nearly four decades that the school will hold its commencement ceremony in its home borough rather than in Manhattan.
The May 23, 2013 ceremony at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center will be the largest commencement in recent Poly history, with more than 1,000 graduates and an estimated 5,800 guests.
Presiding over the ceremonies will be Katepalli Sreenivasan, the newly appointed president of NYU-Poly. Dr. Sreenivasan inherits the reins at a time of great excitement for the school:

• the pending full merger to become the NYU school of engineering in 2014;
• the recent ranking of NYU-Poly as No. 3 among all schools in PayScale’s 2013 College ROI [Return on Investment] Report, which compares tuition investment to salary potential; and
• its selection by U.S. News and World Report as No. 9 among the Best Online GraduateEngineering Programs. Many of the graduates of the NYU e-Poly distance learning program will be meeting each other for the first time during commencement week, after collaborating from far-flung locales during their online classes.

This year the school is granting two honorary degrees. Physicist S. James Gates, Jr., renowned for his work on supersymmetry and supergravity and the first African-American professor to hold an endowed chair in physics at a major research university in the United States, will address the new graduates. Dr. Gates, the John S. Toll professor and director of the Center for String and Particle Theory at the University of Maryland, is recipient of the National of Medal of Science, the highest scientific honor in the United States. He serves on of the President’s Council on Science and Technology.

Honoree Josh S. Weston serves on the Executive Advisory Board at For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), a longtime affiliate of NYU-Poly in engaging pre-college students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through robotics. He chaired ADP, the largest payroll and tax filing processor in the world, through 164 consecutive quarters of double-digit growth during his tenure as CEO. A Fulbright scholar, he serves in many voluntary roles including chairman of the board of Yeshiva University Business School, chairman of the Boys Town of Jerusalem and vice chairman of Business Executives for National Security.

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The Nassau Coliseum vs. the Barclays Center; the Nets' anthem video re-mix (better but already dated); Nets gear as fashion statement

Sam Page in Deadspin, The Nassau Coliseum Was Not A Dump: What The Isles Are Leaving Behind:

For all that's wrong with the Coliseum, it still has perfect sightlines for hockey. Modern sports stadiums are increasingly built for people who don’t go to sporting events to watch sports. Think of the Barclays Center, with its terrible sightlines, and its tireless, schmaltzy, Brooklyn-centric branding. “Brooklyn’s own” John Turturro gives the courtesy safety announcement before the Nets games. The arena soundtrack consists mostly of Brooklyn rappers. The announcer calls for “Brooklyn ball,” never “Nets ball.” The pre-taped scoreboard messages implore, “Brooklyn stand up and get loud.” You can forget whom you're rooting for but never where you are. The Coliseum, tired and traditional, still rewards the hardcore fan.

Note that the Barclays Center has fine sightlines for basketball, just not for hockey.

But it still offers many more luxury suites and branding opportunities than does the Coliseum.

Note: that would be John Turturro, once a special guest at a DDDB Walkathon, like Rosie Perez apparently succumbing to the Brooklyn-centric branding.

A new video of the Nets' anthem

Last month's postseason mix of the Nets' anthem, John Forte's "Brooklyn: Something to Lean On," below, is  better than the earlier video, with more diverse shots of Brooklynites, the artist singing, and the players actually in action, rather than merely arriving at work to change from streetclothes.

And yet, it's already dated, because of the screenshot above right, showing coach P.J. Carlesimo rallying the players. He was fired immediately after the team lost in the first round. Remember, sports is a business.




Branding Brooklyn?

The CUNY/New York Times blog The Local (soon to be detached from the NYT) has not exactly done saturation local coverage lately, but did on 5/8/13 publish an extensive article headlined Branding Brooklyn: The Rise of the Hybrid Fan.

The summary:

Whether its longtime New York Knicks backers, out-of-towners or Brooklyn natives who are new to the game, these “hybrid fans” — more concerned about fashion and borough pride than fan loyalty — flood Modell’s on a daily basis, according to Nicholas Chang, the store’s general manager.

“They might not care about the players’ names on the backs of the jerseys, but one thing is for sure — they love the black and white,” he said.

...“It’s more about touting the Brooklyn Nets’ logo and colors as a fashion statement rather than a fan statement,” Mr. Chang said. “If it’s black and white, it sells like hotcakes.”

Elisa Padilla, Vice President of Marketing for the Nets, has the Brett Yormark-approved soundbite:

“When I see hipsters wearing (Nets) merchandise at games, I know we’ve arrived,” Ms. Padilla said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re die hard, casual or just want to look cool. Black and white has become the badge of honor to wear in our borough.”

Clinical psychologist Napoleon Wells explains:

“Rooting for sports teams is a true tribal theme, and that’s a big deal for Brooklynites, because we all know they’re a proud group of people,” Dr. Wells said. “The Brooklyn Nets have developed a tribe quickly, and their fans feel committed to this marriage because the Nets took their last name, they took Brooklyn in name, and that’s something that locals can now claim as their own.”

They do?

Then the cliche:

The Nets have also filled a void that’s festered at locals since Sept. 24, 1957, when the Brooklyn Dodgers played their final game at Ebbets Field, Ms. Padilla said. 

Festered "at" locals? How many were around back then? To quote Mark Jacobson, writing 10/1/12 in New York magazine:

Dodger longing made sense in the sixties or the seventies. A polis should be given ample time to mourn. But when the monolithic Ebbets Field Apartments have occupied the shores of Bedford Avenue longer than the ballpark ever did: Enough already. For Ratner and his municipal cheerleaders to play this rancid, long-expired nostalgia card now took a lot of balls, I thought.

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As the IBO again suggests NYC could cut Madison Square Garden's tax exemption, City Planning Commission leans toward 15 years for permit renewal

The annual Budget Options for NYC, from the Independent Budget Office, again suggests the possibility of having the state eliminate the property tax exemption for Madison Square Garden, which would bring the city $17.3 million in FY 2014.

From the document:

For three decades, the Garden has enjoyed a full exemption from its tax liability for the property it uses for sports, entertainment, expositions, conventions, and trade shows... When enacted, the exemption was intended to ensure the viability of professional major league sports teams in New York City.

The argument for removal:

Proponents might argue that tax incentives are now unnecessary because the operation of Madison Square Garden is almost certainly profitable. Because Madison Square Garden, L.P., owns the Knicks and Rangers teams, and the Madison Square Garden Network and Fox Sports New York, it receives game-related revenue from tickets, concessions, and cable broadcast advertising. Additionally, the Garden hosts many events, including concerts and circus shows in its arena and theater from which it collects both rent and concession revenue. Proponents also might note that privately owned sports arenas built in recent years in other major cities such as Boston and Chicago, generally do pay real property taxes—as did MSG from 1968 when it opened until 1982—although some have received other government subsidies such as access to tax-exempt financing and public investment in related infrastructure projects. In the case of MSG, the continuing subsidy, long after the construction costs have been recouped, is at odds with the philosophy that guides economic development tax expenditure policy.

The argument against;

Opponents might argue that the presence of the teams continues to benefit the city economically and that foregoing $17.3 million is reasonable compared with the risk that the teams might leave the city. Some also might contend that reneging on the tax exemption would add to the impression that the city is not business-friendly. In recent years the city has entered into agreements with the Nets, Mets, and Yankees to subsidize new facilities for each of these teams. These agreements have leveled the playing field in terms of public subsidies for our major league teams. Eliminating the property tax exemption now for Madison Square Garden would be unfair.

Um, the teams are not going to leave the media capital of the world. The more interesting question is whether the tax break is justified because other sports facilities, including the Barclays Center, recently got a lot of help.

That deserves a lot more analysis--yes, the financing scheme for those new facilities provides hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks. Then again, MSG is in Manhattan, over a transit hub, a tremendous advantage for booking events and accommodating visitors... at least for now.

Giving the Garden 15 years

After a public hearing in which some prominent advocacy groups called for the Garden's operating permit to be renewed for only 10 years rather than in perpetuity, the mayoral-controlled City Planning Commission is leaning toward supporting 15 years--surely antagonizing MSG operators.

That's hardly a done deal, because the change requires support not only of the City Council--Speaker Christine Quinn hasn't weighed in--but also of the state legislature, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, an ally of MSG, does not support it.

Crain's New York Business reported 5/7/13,  City proposes limiting Garden to 15 more years: Limit falls hugely short of owner's insistence that the special permit for "the World's Most Famous Arena" be renewed in "perpetuity." Backers of limit seek way to redevelop site and give Penn Station room to grow.

Crain's reported:

"While Madison Square Garden maintains that the arena special permit should continue in perpetuity, we believe the term is warranted due to the uniqueness of the site and the importance of Penn Station to the city," said Amanda Burden, the head of City Planning Department who also chairs the City Planning Commission.
..."We are recommending today that the commission call for a renewed, multiagency initiative to improve Penn Station," Ms. Burden said. Her notion of a 15-year permit drew vocal support from fellow commissioners, who will officially vote on the plan later in May.
"I think 15 years, in my view, was a good decision and the minimum of what we could do because 10 years is too short and does not give the Garden enough to relocate," said Commissioner Angela Battaglia, who had been skeptical of a limited term during past commission hearings.
"...The Garden is especially sensitive to the imposition of the limited permit because it just spent nearly $1 billion renovating the arena. Some commissioners suggested 15 years would be enough time for the Garden to make back its investment, but even so, there has been talk of the arena operators suing should their permit be limited. The Garden's spokeswoman declined to comment on the prospect of a lawsuit.

An editorial

Crain's followed up with Editorial: Plan for Penn Station's future: As long as Madison Square Garden sits above Penn Station, the transportation hub won't get the major overhaul it desperately needs:

The Garden is an economic engine in its own right and an important part of the city's culture. But its benefits to the local economy are marginal compared with those of Penn Station, which handles more than twice as much traffic as Grand Central Terminal. If one West Side venue had to be sacrificed for the other, the Garden would have to give way.
Fortunately, there need be no sacrifice. Both Penn Station and the Garden could end up winners. And should. Thus, we urge the City Council to affirm the Bloomberg administration's proposal to extend by only 15 years the special permit that allows the Garden to be where it is. That's enough time to come up with a project that expands and modernizes Penn Station, relocates the Garden without interruption and creates a vibrant business district.
Development around the site today doesn't take full advantage of the station's 600,000 daily commuters. Adding office, retail and other space around a renovated Penn Station would be lucrative enough to subsidize a new Garden nearby. The arena's owners, who would see their air rights soar in value, would be effectively compensated for leaving their current building, despite their having spent, by their count, $980 million on its recent upgrade.

Maybe so, but like the tax exemption, it deserves some thorough analysis.

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After arena paid fine for noise violation, Barclays Center concert noise still penetrating residences; Rihanna said to be as loud as Swedish House Mafia/Sensation

Though last week an affiliate of arena developer Forest City Ratner paid a $3200 fine for excess noise from a Swedish House Mafia concert (after previous complaints about noise from Sensation and Jay-Z concerts), the Barclays Center has apparently not fixed the problem.

Atlantic Yards Watch cites two 311 complaints and seven phone calls/texts regarding last night's Rihanna concert:

“Rihanna is as loud as SHM or Sensations!!”
“Are you f****** kidding me, why can’t the police do something?”
“YIKES!! Why are they starting so late?”
“It woke us up!”
“Guess they haven’t done anything to minimize the noise!”
“Passed midnight and they’re still going, when will it end?”
“Why are these noisy types of concerts allowed on a Sunday nights?”

Rihanna's second concert will be tomorrow night, just in time for the Atlantic Yards Quality of Life meeting.

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In battle over future of Madison Square Garden, the Barclays Center surfaces as a curiously praised counterpoint ("seamless" loading dock?)

There’s a huge battle brewing over the future of Madison Square Garden, as some influential organizations and commentators (Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman), seemingly in concert with Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and the Bloomberg administration, are urging that the arena, “squatting” over Penn Station for five decades, be moved in ten years.

Why? So the already overburdened station, long a dismaying, dispiriting entry point to the city, can be made more accessible and safer, with stabilizing pillars removed, able to handle the growth the city anticipates (from Hudson Yards, a new Hudson tunnel) with the grandeur the city deserves.

Add Mayor Mike Bloomberg's lingering animosity to arena operators because of their opposition to the mayor’s West Side Stadium plan.

The only problem: MSG, after seeing a 2007 potential move to the Farley Post Office across 8th Avenue fall through, committed nearly $1 billion of private funds to renovate the arena, upgrading suites, seats and functions to compete with other sports facilities, including the Barclays Center.

So the request by advocates--including planning groups like the Municipal Art Society and the Regional Plan Association, creating an Alliance for a New Penn Station, as well as the American Institute of Architects--that MSG get only a ten-year renewal of its operating permit is unfair, the arena and its allies say.

Who's right?

The arena's defense on the permit has some weight, especially since it’s hardly safe to bet that a new arena and train station could be planned in a decade.

But issues of fairness are very tough to parse. After all, MSG gets a seemingly unnecessary tax exemption now worth $16.5 million a year, money that over the past 30 years might be said to have funded a good chunk of that renovation. (See the NYC Independent Budget Office's list of pros and cons regarding that tax exemption, at right.)

In turn, MSG contends that its tax savings are dwarfed by tax savings and subsidies granted to other sports facilities in New York City, including the Barclays Center and Yankee Stadium.

That’s likely true, but none of them have the advantages of MSG’s central location on Manhattan’s West Side and the attendant ability to charge big money for suites, sponsorships, and advertising--and to accommodate a uniquely busy event schedule.

Whatever the recommendation of the Bloomberg-controlled City Planning Commission (CPC), which held a hearing last month, the issue should come to the City Council this summer. (Council Speaker Christine Quinn is on the fence.) Before that, potential new designs for the station and arena, dreamed up by some pro bono teams of architects, should be revealed next month, with a public event on May 29.

(Also see coverage from Crain's, the Commercial Observer, and the Times. Crain's columnist Greg David observed that Bloomberg is unlikely to gain his revenge. The New York Post, in an editorial, defended MSG, while the New York Times called for a ten-year permit, with smaller signage.)

"Seamless" Barclays emerges at public hearing

Proposed MSG signage; photo from DNAinfo

The 4/10/13 CPC public hearing, which I recently watched on video, addressed whether MSG its operating permit be renewed in perpetuity or last only a decade, and whether (and how much) the arena should be allowed to add massive, revenue-generating digital signage to exterior.

The hearing, to an Atlantic Yards watcher, quite remarkable. First, CPC Chairwoman Amanda Burden, warmly friendly to many development projects, including Atlantic Yards, was skeptical and vaguely sneering toward MSG and its defenders.

Also, the Barclays Center was cited not just as a competitor with spiffy modern facilities, but also as an arena that operated more discreetly in its setting, with more modest digital signage and loading dock facilities that work “seamlessly.”

That, of course, was astounding. Only compared to MSG, which has antiquated facilities that require loading on the street, does the Barclays Center elevator/turntable combo--unique compared to most arenas, which have drive-in ramps from parking lots--seem superior.

After all, the Brooklyn arena hardly works perfectly, as trucks stack up on Dean Street and other nearby streets. See for example this video from Atlantic Yards Watch, from a report showing trucks lined up on residential Dean Street waiting to load-in for the circus in March.



Also see this report last November from Atlantic Yards Watch, stating, "Two trucks queued on Dean Street waiting for entry to the loading dock for at least half an hour. The second truck turned off its engine, but the first idled for up to half an hour."

And while MSG’s proposed signage is far more extensive, it is in more of a business district--albeit with residences nearby--rather than butting into a rowhouse district. (And no one got to vote on whether Barclays Center could slap a big Barclays logo on the arena roof, which, as approved initially, was supposed to be a green roof.)

And MSG’s unappealing exterior architecture, already slammed by Kimmelman, led Vikki Barbero, chair of Manhattan CB5, to say the Manhattan arena had to be updated, “otherwise, it will become a second rate cousin to the new and glamorous Barclays Center in Brooklyn.”

Arena at transit hub?

It was also notable to hear the consensus is that an arena should not be on a transit hub, a rather slippery formulation often inaccurately used to describe the Barclays Center. An arena like MSG sitting directly over a major transit station imposes huge constraints and, actually, the Barclays Center is below grade and adjacent.

“I can’t find anywhere in the world-- we’ve been looking for a place where there’s an arena on top of a major transportation hub like this, and we haven’t been able to find one,” said Robert Yaro of the Regional Plan Association (RPA) at the hearing.. “There’s a good reason--it doesn’t work.”

But an adjacent hub like the one in Brooklyn, not so bad. The stairs from the far end of subway tracks lead to a new station and then the plaza that serves as an entrance path to the arena. The Long Island Rail Road is a long block away. Those distinctions are usually elided, given the Barclays Center’s transit access, but they are important.

Fawning at a sports star

One note: former Knick and current team front office staffer Larry Johnson testified about how MSG was a beacon for athletes and thus deserved to get a permit renewal.

Despite the essential nonsense of such statements, he got fawning treatment from Commissioner Angela Battaglia, who said, “It is a privilege for us to have you.” It seemed ridiculous then, a sign of unnecessary worship of athletes--especially one who, while good, is hardly Hall of Fame material.

And it seems even more unwise now, given Johnson's rather unwelcome reaction to the coming out of Jason Collins, the league's first openly gay player.

The hearing leads off: signage

Early in the hearing, Burden asked MSG attorney Elise Wagner (of Kramer, Levin, which also represents Forest City Ratner on Atlantic Yards), should the arena have advertising signage outside.

Wagner responded that every arena has such signage, including Barclays.

How does it compare to Barclays, Burden asked.

“My understanding is that much of their advertising related to sponsors,” Wagner responded, not so accurately. Yes, each entrance has a sponsor attached. But the messages in the Barclays Center oculus is most definitely advertising.

Commissioner Michelle de la Uz, of the Fifth Avenue Committee in Brooklyn, observed, “I think what you're proposing is vastly different.” Indeed, as DNAInfo reported, “MSG reps are asking for the right to install four 77-foot LED display panels--almost twice the size of the existing regulation-sized 40-foot signs--on four sides of arena.”

Later, though MSG officials acknowledged the amount of signage was negotiable, they were unwilling to put a dollar value on expected revenue.

The issue of loading

Burden asked Wagner, with some edge in her voice, “are you saying there are no constraints on the Garden... it operates perfectly well?” Does it, Burden asked, have plenty of room for loading operations?

Wagner stressed the issue of balance, noting that the location allows people to to to the arena by public transit. “We're in the middle of midtown, the loading is difficult,” she allowed, but the Garden “is able to overcome” constraints.

Loading, repeated Burden, “is not optimal.”

Commissioner Orlando Marin asked if there was any way to avoid trucks on the streets and sidewalks.

Wagner said “there is a line of trucks along the curb,” but they don’t block traffic. In order for changes, to loading, “there would have to be major structural changes made to the Garden,” and that’s not part of the application.

Has that been studied?

Yes, MSG has looked at that, Wagner said, but “there’s no profitable way to do that.” That, of course, is worthy of greater inquiry.

She stressed that trucks are kept outside the arena “for a minimal amount of time.”

“If you put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig,” countered Commissioner Irwin Cantor. “You’re not persuasive that this type of work is infeasible. Is it truly infeasible, or is it just money? You’re asking for an open ended future, and you’re offering nothing in return.”

What MSG is offering, as others would testify, is what facility operators understandably claim: world-class events, area employment, thrills for the needy who get free tickets or opportunity to meet athletes.

Wagner said that exterior improvements will benefit the area, but trucks got larger after MSG was built, so they can’t fit into the ramp.

What MSG could build

Commissioner Anna Hayes Levin, who noted that MSG owns the site, asked what could be built as of right if the arena disappeared.

Wagner said the owners could build a 2.5 million square foot office building--nearly as big as the Empire State Building, which has 2.7 million sf-- without provision for transit improvements, and even twice as large if such transit improvements were included.

(Another MSG attorney, Paul Selver, later noted that “the Garden could leave the building there, and simply reprogram it for another use.”)

The renovation and the permit renewal

Burden asked Wagner to explain the business decision, including MSG’s consideration of moving in 2007.

The deal fell through to go to Farley, she said, and the Garden couldn’t wait to see if it was revived: “It’s a competitive industry, the Barclays Center was being built.”

In deciding to invest a billion dollars, did MSG expect it would remain where it was, in perpetuity, asked Commissioner Kenneth Knuckles.

MSG, Wagner said, has already moved several times. If there were an appropriate site, she said, the Garden would study the option. Unstated was that the renewal of the operating permit, at least until the criticism crested, was considered automatic.

Burden asked the RPA’s Yaro, who suggested a ten-year term, what could “reasonably be accomplished in ten years,” given that the city and state have not previously come up with a plan for a new train station.

Yaro said several federally initiated projects are under way regarding rail, and all other Northeast Corridor cities are revamping their Amtrak stations. So there’s a window of opportunity to use the Farley Post Office across Eighth Avenue as Moynihan Station for Amtrak.

Yaro, like others, acknowledged a mistake in allowing an arena to be built over a then-moribund station. Fifty years ago, he said, “ the presumption was that the railroads were going out of business... They dropped 1163 columns onto the platforms” in building MSG, thus blocking even wheelchair movement. “A modern Penn Station would have 200 columns.”

“The Garden acted in good faith,” Yaro said. “They know that even with these improvements, it’s not competitive with what we’re seeing at Barclays.... I think that’s because there hasn’t been a place for them to go... The city needs to help them move.”

(His evidence that MSG’s not competitive? That a dog show had to be shared with an external site. I’m not sure that MSG isn’t competitive with Barclays. It may have antiquated loading, but it’s still way more booked.)

Yaro acknowledged there were many moving parts in the plan, including the possibility of using the Morgan post office site in Chelsea for MSG. Also, Kimmelman has has suggested the Javits Center site. Neither have the same transit access as the current arena.

“Is it reasonable,” Cantor asked, “to just throw a ten-year number on the table, when at the very least we give them the opportunity to amortize out part of their investment?”

“Wee heard today their presumption was a rubber stamp,” said Yaro, suggesting MSG “made that investment at their peril... I believe relocation of the Garden requires heroic actions of the type that went on around Times Square [revitalization].”

He hinted at--but didn’t specify--that MSG would get some form of compensation. Later Vishaan Chakrabarti, who directs Columbia University’s Center for Urban Real Estate and formerly ran the Moynihan Station project, observed that the sale of air rights would have funded MSG’s previous move.

Lawrence Burian, MSG executive VP, later pointed out that, when Chakrabarti wanted to move MSG to Farley, “I do recall that Vishaan’s plan was to build two skyscrapers on top of Penn.”

Defending MSG; is tax break fair?

Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, defending MSG, pointed out that, at a less accessible location, the “operation would have a serious negative impact on traffic.”

He suggested that renewal “should at least be in the 25 to 30-year range.” He acknowledged that concerns about signage raised by Community Boards 4 and 5 were “legitimate.”

de la Uz asked if there was “any conversation about whether [the tax break] is something should continue.”

Gottfried responded by suggesting it was unfair to target MSG, given that New York City gives tax benefits “to an extraordinary number of corporations.”

“Unlike many sports facilities,” he said in a dig at Yankee Stadium, “the Garden was never heard to announce they were moving.”

The Daily News reported 4/14/13 that MSG opposed a legislative attempt, by Assemblyman David Weprin and Sen. James Sanders, both of Queens, to kill the tax break.

“All other teams, including the Yankees, Nets and Mets, have received, and continue to receive, significant public subsidies, including property tax exemptions, that are estimated to total more than $2.3 billion,” MSG responded in a statement.

The Daily News 4/16/13 reported that Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver oppose removing the tax break. Could the campaign contributions from Cablevision to Cuomo and the longtime MSG ties to Silver have an impact?

The “seamless” Barclays turntable

Burden said at one point, “Barclays has a major turntable beneath the arena that can handle trucks in a seamless way.”

Her point was seconded by Chakrabarti, who also happens to be a partner in SHoP, the key Barclays Center architect.




He called it “madness” to use forklifts to unload a truck rather than bring it into the building. “The Barclays Center works seamlessly because of a proper loading function,” Chakrabarti claimed.

The future vision

MAS, its president Vin Cipolla told the commission, “has embarked on an exploration of what the future of the site might look like.”

Was the assignment, Burden asked, to have new MSG and Penn Station on the same site?

No, Cipolla said. “One of the ideas is to really be ambitious for New York.” (See a Daily News op-ed from Cipolla and Yaro.)

MSG's Burian, however, said “it is not our view an appropriate use of police power to put a deadline on us that is unrelated to our actual use.” He said it was misplaced to use the process, penalizing his employer, to put pressure on public bodies to revamp the station.

After all, he said, the arena was still an arena, so its use hadn’t changed.

Back to loading and Barclays

Burden countered by bringing up the issue of loading, “operating the Garden in a contemporary manner.:”

Burian responded that the loading only occurs 50-60 times a year, for concerts, as opposed to sports events. “It’s not like there’s loading trucks day and night... I think findings show it does not interfere with Penn Station.”

“There are trucks all over the site,” Burden responded with an edge in her voice, “when they were intended to go in loading dock doors.”

The trucks, Burian countered, are mostly not in the public thoroughfare.

“They’re visible, they’re a blight on the landscape,” Burden responded.

Burian said MSG was proposing to screen off the trucks to make them less visible, and noted trucks also are unloading for Amtrak, and all the retail outlets.

”I will tell you: people talked about the magical turnable at Barclays," Burian said. "Wait ‘til that turntable, one time has a mechanical dysfunction.”

He looked back at a colleague and continued, in an aside “It’s already happened.” (Yes, I'm told, some snags have delayed use of the loading dock, but the bigger problem has been coordinating deliveries.)



“Talk about what the disaster is going to be when that turntable isn’t able to be fixed,” he said. “There’s no perfect answer.” Should MSG move, he added, the traffic impacts would be seen as a disaster by locals during the environmental review.

MSG's business plans

Burian noted that MSG just negotiated a new deal with the Big East conference to have its basketball tournament at the Garden for more than 10 years.

Burden said MSG made a decision to invest when it knew the special permit was expiring.

Burian said “nobody ever dreamed” it wouldn’t be renewed, and “no lender asked us.” He said MSG complied with the requirements of the permits.

“Frankly, had we not invested, and we were still talking about Farley... we’d still be talking about Farley... we’d be with the oldest building in the NBA, in desperate need for renovation," he said, "while CitiField, Yankee Stadium, Barclays got billions of dollars in public subsidies... We feel what we did, without a dollar of public subsidy, is not only good for us but good for New York.”

“Barclays has very little [signage],” Burden said later. “They only have got it on the inside of the ring.. it’s very hard to see that... are you proposing you stay within the height of what Barclays has?”

(It's not so hard to see that, neighbors on residential Pacific Street say.)

“There’s no magic,” allowed Burian. “If you disagree, we would work with you.”

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NBA Draft to be held at the Barclays Center June 27

From NorthJersey.com's Meadowlands Matters, the news that the National Basketball Association Draft will be held in Brooklyn June 27 at 7 pm:

"We are excited to be holding the NBA Draft in Brooklyn, a borough long associated with great basketball talent,” said NBA Commissioner David Stern in a press release. “In addition to being a state-of-the-art arena, Barclays Center has quickly become a go-to destination for world class events. We are confident Barclays Center is an ideal venue for introducing the next generation of NBA stars to a global audience.”
“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. “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.”
The Nets also saw the draft held in their home the two previous seasons, when they played at the Prudential Center in Newark. Madison Square Garden is heading for a third and final summer of “transformation” – so don’t be shocked if the 2014 draft ends up there.

In case you're wondering, tickets are $20 and $35.

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The Happy Arena? Workers are friendly, but their compensation is limited and turnover is regular

In its ongoing look at the wonderfulness of the Barclays Center, regularly visiting Section 15, the New York Times Sports section on 4/22/13 offered Section 15: The Happy Arena : "Wonder why everyone is so friendly at the Barclays Center? Ushers went through hospitality training from Disney professionals."



It's true that the workers are friendly, if not always fully informed.

They're also on a part-time schedule, with no benefits. No one whose main job is an usher can afford to live on their own, and some roommate situations would be tough. (If they live with parents, well, that could work.)

So there's surely pain behind that friendliness. There's been lots of turnover.

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Outside the Barclays Center on the second night of playoffs: limos in "No Standing" zone, fans mostly subdued, parking and garbage problems

I stopped by the Barclays Center last night in the middle of the fourth quarter, during the second game of the Brooklyn Nets' first-ever playoff series, in which the team, after winning handily in the first game, lost 90-82 to the tough Chicago Bulls.

Though the Nets had a chance to win--assuming some quick three-point shots--and came as close as four points with four minutes left, attendees were trickling out steadily from the middle of the quarter, some with kids on a school night, others wanting to get the jump on transportation.

Two sections of the stairs to the transit hub were roped off, in an effort to slow the crowd from going downstairs. Drivers surely wanted to avoid traffic jams. Other fans streamed out with a minute or two to go, obviously (and accurately) not expecting a miracle.

From the arena plaza, you can see part of the scoreboard, but you can't see the score unless you're standing right up against the doors.

Outside the arena



As noted on Atlantic Yards Watch and in the video below that I shot, limos line up on the north side of Atlantic Avenue in the lay-by lane to wait for pick-ups. That violates a clear "no standing" zone rule and, while it's surely helpful for the VIPs lucky enough to have their vehicle among the few waiting, it penalizes others who exit the building faster.

Fans orderly, but...

I watched the crowd exit from the back of the arena on Dean Street; they were fairly subdued, neither cheering boisterously (it was a loss, after all) nor talking loudly. (The loudest group I heard were a couple of guys shouting as they exited the Q train I was on several stops into Brooklyn.)

As they exited, attendees competed with valet parking vehicles exiting from the loading dock and the adjacent above-ground Pad.

I followed the group heading to Pacific Street and immediately encountered two fans (in Nets hats) relieving themselves against the wall of a warehouse building immediately east of Sixth Avenue. They proceeded to the Newswalk parking garage two doors down to pick up their vehicle.

Continued impacts

An Atlantic Yards Watch contributor reports Illegal parking and idling at all the usual spots on 5th Avenue etc., below Flatbush Avenue (where I didn't go).

Another noted that a "pile of 20 or 30 bags of garbage has been in the satellite uplink parking lot (at the northeast corner of Sixth Avenue and Dean Street] since at least Saturday." (See photo at right.) That's next to a residence.

A dissent on the food

While reviews of the arena food have been mostly positive, the Village Voice's Robert Sietsema, who focused on one vendor, disagrees strenuously, in Food at Barclays Fatty 'Cue is Really, Really Terrible.

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Arena event calendar for May released; slim pickings unless playoffs continue

The Barclays Center has released the May 2013 event calendar, and it's notably slim pickings--at least unless the Nets advance in the playoffs.

Note that the arena event calendar lists May 4 as a potential first-round Nets game earlier in the day, and also lists May 31 as a concert. If the Nets make it past the first round, of course, there would be a least two more home games--but maybe not more, since they'd be playing the defending champs Miami Heat.

The April calendar, with an update

Note that April 29 is also reserved for a home playoff game, if the first-round series with the Bulls goes past four games.

 The previous version, without playoff games:

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A look at the Barclays Center's somewhat fraught boxing venture is presented as "Fans Hope Barclays Center Will Revive Brooklyn Boxing"

The big Barclays Center news today is the Brooklyn Nets' dominating playoff opener win against the Chicago Bulls, dubbed "Beatdown in Brooklyn" by the New York Post in reference to the "Blackout in Brooklyn" theme that pervaded the arena.

But the longest single article appears on the front of the New York Times's Metropolitan section, a seemingly balanced but inherently skewed piece headlined Brooklyn Gets a Rematch: Fans Hope Barclays Center Will Revive Brooklyn Boxing.

After all, the biggest hope belongs to arena CEO Brett Yormark, who promised monthly boxing matches beginning in October, then--after having to paper the house last October with 1000 free tickets--announced the next bout in February but actually didn't have a match until March.

The gist:

Until very recently, a scene like this one — a Brooklyn boxer training at a Brooklyn gym for a big-time bout in Brooklyn — would have been impossible, but now that the Barclays Center, on Flatbush Avenue, is midway through its maiden season of organizing fights, local gyms in the borough are again alive with the thump and sweat of hometown fighters readying themselves for hometown crowds.

“When there’s someplace in your own backyard where you can fight for friends and family and people you grew up with, it means a lot,” said Cleavon Evans, the dreadlocked co-owner of the Starrett City club. “Every fighter wants to fight for their own, and for us in Brooklyn, Barclays changed that game.”

Brooklyn’s boxing history reaches back to 1882, before the Brooklyn Bridge opened, when John L. Sullivan knocked out Jimmy Elliott with a blow to the throat at the Washington Park stadium, which is long defunct. The borough has birthed its share of champions — Mike Tyson and Riddick Bowe among them.

But the fight game in New York, and especially in Brooklyn, has been moribund for decades...

Here's the way the article papers over Yormark's excess expectations:

Though Mr. Yormark has not yet met his initial promise of a night of boxing every month, the Garcia fight (accompanied by three more title matches that night) was followed in March by a second night of fights... On April 27, Mr. [Danny] Jacobs will fight at yet a third “show,” as boxing promoters call their competitions, whose main event will pit Zab Judah, another son of Brooklyn, in a title fight against the returning Mr. Garcia. A fourth show has been scheduled for June at which Paul Malignaggi, a welterweight from Bensonhurst, will meet the rising star Adrien Broner.

Golden Gloves move--why?

The article mentions that, "[t]his year, for the first time since 1927, [Madison Square Garden] did not host the finals of the citywide Golden Gloves amateur competition, which took place Thursday and Friday nights at the Barclays Center."

The main reason suggested below in the article is that the Brooklyn arena charges promoters far less. But couldn't it also be because the unnamed sponsor, the New York Daily News, moved the competition to the Barclays Center, where it sponsors the associated plaza?

Mismatched fights?

The article does note:

After the arena’s first show in October, Sports Illustrated published an article condemning Golden Boy for arranging mismatched bouts on its opening night.

...Inherent in this criticism were the conflicts that all promoters face in staging fights. It is intrinsic to boxing that matchmakers need, on one hand, to put on bouts competitive enough to engage the fickle interest of an audience, but still need, on the other, to improve the records, and thus the market values, of the fighters they are contractually responsible for promoting. 

Who's to blame?

Mr. Yormark said he had struck the deal with Golden Boy because neither he nor his staff was expert in organizing fights. He has concerned himself instead with the business end of Barclays’ boxing program...

His critics, however, have said his decision to cede control of his boxing shows to Golden Boy has consistently resulted in uninspiring fights. 

If so, and some of those critics are pretty legit, maybe the headline should be along the lines of "Fans Look at Barclays Center Boxing with Wariness and Hope."

A different way

After all, the Barclays Center could be doing more:

Robert Goodman, who managed in-house boxing at the Garden from 1985 to 1994, said that one chief aspect of his program was a continuing effort to groom young boxers from neighborhoods around New York with an eye toward having them fight one day on the professional stage...
“I think that Barclays’ fans may suffer in the end, because as it stands, no one is developing local fighters,” Mr. Goodman said. “And the only way to do that is to have control of your own department and your own local talent.”

Still, the last word goes to local boxer Paulie Malignaggi, seen by some experts as a sacrificial lamb, who:

responded to this slight while sitting in Portobello’s, his manager’s pizzeria, a Brooklyn Nets cap cocked in homeboy fashion on his head.

“My name is synonymous with Brooklyn,” he said. “I grew up in Brooklyn. I learned to box in Brooklyn. I was never anybody’s favorite. I never got the ‘let’s-set-Paulie-up-to-be-the-next-star’ fight. I’ve been an opponent for other people’s stars before and now it’s happening again.”

Still, in true Brooklyn fashion, he said it was enough to be fighting at the Barclays Center for a hometown crowd.

“Everybody wants to rep their hood and at this point I can’t knock it. Hey, man,” he added, “it’s boxing.”

Yormark is surely pleased with the cross-marketing. It's probably in Malignaggi's contract.

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At the arena plaza, a McCartney announcement, a persistent rat, and a hint of the coming "Brooklyn Skybox"

Yesterday was a big day for arena hype, notably a public announcement that Paul McCartney will bring his 2013 "Out There" tour to the Barclays Center on June 8 and 10.

AM New York provided a photo of the promotion led by Borough President Marty Markowitz and arena CEO Brett Yormark, complete with a Union Jack and faux Royal Guards.

According to Markowitz:

"It's been a 'Long and Winding Road' and never 'In My Life' would I have guessed that my favorite knight would be leaving the Queen to come to the glorious county of Kings -- so let's all 'Come Together' and celebrate."

Funny, every time Madison Square Garden signs a tour, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer doesn't feel compelled to promote it.

And even though the Daily News labeled it a "publicity stunt," the newspaper--a sponsor of the arena plaza--posted an article with several photographs.

Below, the message in the oculus.

At left, a photo circulated by Markowitz's office via Twitter.

In the oculus

The wider view

See below for the concert banner at left under the oculus and, in the distance, the union rat put up as part of a union protest.

Brooklyn SkyBox coming

In the photo above, note the "Coming Soon" sign for, as here's Park Slope reported, "Brooklyn SkyBox" Coming to Barclays Area:

A new billboard has gone up on top of the building that will next be home to Shake Shack, on the south side of Flatbush Avenue directly across the street from the Barclays Center, advertising Brooklyn SkyBox, "The ultimate sports viewing experience," coming soon.
There's a Twitter handle set up, and the concept already seems to be pretty fleshed out. Looks like it'll be a "stadium inspired restaurant that features sports viewing, roof top lounge, fine dining, food concessions, event rentals, arcades and games," according to the description, and apparently they've already worked out a partnership with Pepsi. It also appears as if it's owned by Drummond & Drummond LLC, a management and holding company.

Where exactly is it located? Brownstoner reported:

We hear that the exact location is 604 Pacific Street, right off Flatbush Avenue, where it will open by the end of this year. The owner, Michael Drummond, plans to set up a restaurant, rooftop dining, big-screen TV and arcade. He’s also in touch with the North Flatbush Avenue BID with the assurance that the venue is community friendly and will be a good neighbor.

The location? The former furniture store once supposed to house a gastropub. Note that the Twitter location above is "Atlantic Yards, Brooklyn, NY."

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