Big-time professional sports returned to Brooklyn for the first time in more than 50 years on Friday, when the Brooklyn Nets finally unveiled their new stadium after a decade-long fight with neighbors.
The 675,000-square-foot, 18,000-seat Barclays Center will officially open on September 28 with a concert by rapper Jay-Z, and the Nets – formerly the New Jersey Nets – will play their first game at the arena, against the New York Knicks, on November 1.
The team’s arrival marks the first time in 55 years the borough can lay claim to a major professional sports team, following the removal of the celebrated Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles, a move that outraged local baseball fans.
— Reported by Eidth Honan of Reuters
