The soon-to-open Barclays Center, bringing sports and live entertainment to Brooklyn, NY, announced this week that Ticketmaster will handle both primary and secondary ticketing for the venue. Ticketmaster, a Live Nation Entertainment company, will manage primary ticket sales, and ticket resale will be handled at the company’s secondary ticketing site, TicketsNow.
The agreement includes ticketing for the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, formerly the New Jersey Nets. The arrival of the Nets marks the first time major league sports has come to Brooklyn since the storied departure of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1957. Fans will have 18,200 seats for Nets games, 19,000 for live performances.
The deal also makes Ticketmaster a Founding Partner of the Barclays Center.
In a press release announcing the news, Barclays Center and Brooklyn Nets CEO Brett Yormark stated, “We are committed to aligning ourselves with the best in the sports and entertainment industry, and that is why we have chosen Ticketmaster as the exclusive ticketing provider for Barclays Center.
“Customer service is an integral part of our business and Ticketmaster offers the ultimate fan-friendly ticket experience for our visitors, as every ticket bought and sold on the platform will be validated as an authentic ticket by Ticketmaster.”
As part of the package, Barclays Center will have access to the dynamic pricing platform Pricemaster, as well as data analytics from Ticketmaster’s LiveAnalytics service.
In the same announcement, Live Nation president and CEO Michael Rapino remarked on how well suited the two partners are to this arrangement: “As Barclays Center continues to set new standards and lead the industry in state-of-the-art venue design, the sports and entertainment arena is an ideal partner to promote a ticket solution that will enable venues, artists and teams to better serve their fans.”
As Barry Baum, spokesperson for the Nets and Barclays Center, recently told TicketNews about the reasoning behind the decision, “This is the best, most fan-friendly ticketing solution in the market.”
The Barclays Center has a star-studded lineup of musical artists coming up this fall. Rap artist Jay-Z, a Brooklyn native and a Nets/Barclays Center part-owner, opens the arena with its first ever musical performance on September 28. Barbra Streisand returns home to Brooklyn on October 11 for two shows. Rush arrives later in the month, and Justin Bieber takes the stage in November.
The Barclays Center Classic, pitting the 2012 NCAA National Champion Kentucky Wildcats against the Maryland Terrapins, takes place on November 9, and, of course, the Center is the new home to the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, who will have their first season at the arena this fall.
As Fred Mangione, Barclays Center Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer recently told TicketNews, “Our goal over the first couple of months is to have a big variety of events so people can eyeball the facility.”
Ticket sales for the venue are already hot enough to take it to No. 1 on TicketNews’ Top Venues rankings for the week ending Sunday, May 20, a full four months before the Center even opens its doors.
Nets spokesman Barry Baum recently told USA Today that the team will offer some of the least expensive seating in all of the NBA. According to Baum, half of the 18,200 seats for this season are going for $55 or less, with 2,000 seats costing $15 or less.
The venue is currently estimated to be 75 percent complete, and it will feature amenities like 100 luxury suites, including “The Vault,” eleven high-end suites designed by Jay Z, according to the Barclays Center site. The arena will also provide four bars, three nightclubs, and a restaurant for patrons.
With monster musical acts, a return of sports to the borough for the first time in seven decades, and Ticketmaster on board, Barclays seems to be on track for a profitable start.
