Barclays Center

The Brooklyn Nets moved into Brooklyn just in time for Hurricane Sandy, but in some ways that is a good thing.

The Nets’ practice facility in New Jersey, the PNY Center, is still underwater and the damages are more extensive than most people believed at first. Now, the Nets will not be able to practice there until January and have moved all their practices to the Barclays Center. The Nets have been practicing on both the main court at Barclays Center and the practice court, which was originally only meant only for quick shootarounds and walk-throughs.

The Nets have been looking to build a new practice facility in Brooklyn or Manhattan since the beginning of this year but have yet to find the right location. Until that facility is built, they will continue practicing in New Jersey once the damages to PNY Center are repaired.

This is another reason why the Nets are thankful they have moved to Brooklyn. Just imagine if this hurricane came last season. With the practice facility underwater, the Nets would have had no place to practice. The Prudential Center probably would not have let them practice there and it doesn’t have a practice court anyway. Who knows where the Nets would have been practicing.

Nets players and coaches are trying to take away the positives from practicing in Brooklyn. It means they are spending more time in their home borough and are becoming more familiar with the arena.

The Nets will host Cleveland at Barclays Center tonight.

Barclays Center. Via Nets Twitter page.

An article in today’s New York Times applauds the Barclays Center for offering a lot of local food, branded “Brooklyn Taste,” at their concession stands. Here are some sentences from the article:

• This is the new Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets with food about as local as stadium fare gets.
• The building will offer the products of 37 Brooklyn restaurateurs and food purveyors in its concession stands, suites and restaurants.
• There will be foie gras and hand-sliced ham for the big spenders, and even “caviar for Mr. Prokhorov,” said one chef, referring to Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire and Nets majority owner. There will be pickles, pretzels and black-and-white cookies for non-billionaires.
• There is talk of offering “Brooklyn Taste” cooking classes and a cookbook.
• Bruce Ratner said, “Even before it became the food capital, there were 90 different ethnic groups. We had an opportunity that almost nobody else ever had: to pick through all these different types of restaurants and foods and make it local.”
• Brooklyn Bangers, from the Michelin-starred chef Saul Bolton (of the restaurants Saul and The Vanderbilt), will offer brisket hot dogs ($9.75); Zakary Pelaccio of Fatty ’Cue will sell barbecue brisket and pork sandwiches ($13.75 and $12.75, respectively), and the Red Hook Lobster Pound will supply lobster rolls ($18.50).

I get the feeling that much of the food will very expensive and unaffordable for most fans. I probably will stick to Nathan’s hot dogs when I go to Nets games but I am intrigued that there will be so much local food.