The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, which has yet to open doors, made its debut last week at the No. 1 position on TicketNews’ exclusive venues rankings and held on to the top spot for a second consecutive week with the help of some big name events.
The Barclays Center is set to open doors on September 28, with a performance by Jay-Z, who is part-owner of the Brooklyn Nets (formerly the New Jersey Nets) who will be calling the Barclays Center home with the start of the NBA season. The venue will seat 18,000 for basketball games and up to 19,000 for concerts.
Most recently, it was announced that Barbra Streisand would be returning home to Brooklyn for a performance in October. The October 11 performance sold out rather quickly and due to the overwhelming demand a second tour date was added for October 13.
The Barclays Center has projected 220 events for its first year. Other notable events that have already been announced include concerts from legendary rock band Rush and classical singer Andrea Bocelli. The inaugural Barclays Center Classic is scheduled for November 9, with the 2012 NCAA National Champion Kentucky Wildcats taking on the Maryland Terrapins. To view the full list of events visit the official Barclays Center website.
This week’s top three venues came in neck-and-neck, with the Staples Center taking the second spot. The Staples Center found itself in a unique situation with three of its residents making it to the post season in their respective sports. The venue had to prepare for six games over a four day period for the three teams. However, since May 20, both the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated from the NBA Playoffs. The Los Angeles Kings lead the Phoenix Coyotes 3-1 in the NHL’s Western Conference Finals.
Rounding out the top three is MetLife Stadium which hosted the three-day dance music festival, Electric Daisy Carnival, from May 18-20. The venue has two international soccer friendlies lined up with Mexico-Wales on May 27, followed by Argentina–Brazil on June 9.
TicketNews Exclusive Rankings and Power Scores are based on ticket sales for venues from the TicketNetwork Exchange™. A Power Score illustrates a given venue’s significance among all other venues listed in the Exchange. Two factors are used to calculate a power score: total ticket sales for a venue, and total ticket sales overall.
Top Venues
Week Ending 5/20/12
| Venue | Score | |
| 1 | Barclays Center Tickets | 2.39 |
| 2 | Staples Center Tickets | 2.38 |
| 3 | MetLife Stadium (Formerly New Meadowlands Stadium) Tickets | 2.37 |
| 4 | Fenway Park Tickets | 2.22 |
| 5 | Eugene O’Neill Theatre Tickets | 2.07 |
| 6 | Yankee Stadium Tickets | 1.91 |
| 7 | Dallas Cowboys Stadium Tickets | 1.44 |
| 8 | American Airlines Arena Tickets | 1.08 |
| 9 | AT&T Center Tickets | 1.03 |
| 10 | Nikon at Jones Beach Theater Tickets | 1.03 |
| 11 | Prudential Center Tickets | 1.02 |
| 12 | Toyota Center – TX Tickets | 1.01 |
| 13 | Madison Square Garden Tickets | 0.96 |
| 14 | Caesars Palace – Colosseum Tickets | 0.94 |
| 15 | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Formerly Conseco Fieldhouse) Tickets | 0.86 |
| 16 | Red Rocks Amphitheatre Tickets | 0.83 |
| 17 | Wrigley Field Tickets | 0.80 |
| 18 | Aarons Amphitheatre At Lakewood (formerly Lakewood Amphitheatre) Tickets | 0.79 |
| 19 | MGM Grand Garden Arena Tickets | 0.79 |
| 20 | American Airlines Center Tickets | 0.79 |
