Barclays Suite Showroom Has Robust Sales
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Brooklyn's brand-new Barclays Center is still under construction, but its ticket sales are well underway. Borough reporter Jeanine Ramirez went to the Midtown showroom, where envisioning the venue and being part of Brooklyn history are part of the pitch. It's located in Midtown, but the Barclays Center Showroom is all Brooklyn. The hallways are lined with key dates in the borough's history and images of its landmarks, like Coney Island's Parachute Jump. It evokes nostalgia as Brooklyn gets its first professional sports team in decades.
"We realized early on that the brand 'Brooklyn' means so much. And for us, we're always selling Brooklyn, marketing Brooklyn, whether it's the building itself, the suites, the messaging," says Barclays Center and Nets CEO Brett Yormark.
The suites are also named with a Brooklyn flair, from a model 10-seat suite called the "Loft," to a larger one called the "Brownstone." Prospective buyers can sit and watch a panoramic screen of 90 different seat views of the basketball court and concert stage.
Brooklyn business owner Steven Zuller bought a "Loft" suite for the season.
"Now that the Barclays Center such a great facility is coming right near my offices in Brooklyn, I feel like it's a wonderful opportunity to entertain our clients," says Zuller. "Our sales division goes out and entertains clients all the time."
Prospective season ticket buyers watch a video that shows real-time camera images of the arena's construction and trumpets all of the venue's entertainment offerings and the convenience of the facility's location, "just five miles from Midtown Manhattan and only minutes from the Brooklyn Bridge."
"We have about 39 percent of our sales coming from Brooklyn, 25 percent from Manhattan and then a mixture of Jersey, Connecticut, Philly-based," says Premium Seating's Dan Lefton, the vice president of Suites Sales.
The Nets sales group says it has sold half of the available suites since they went on the market in March.
Next, the Barclays Center will be launching its "Event Level" suites, a marketing campaign is expected to happen later this month.
"Event Level" pricing is its most expensive package, starting at $550,000 per year. Hip-hop star Jay-Z, who owns a small part of the team, is also part of the marketing strategy. He is headlining a show to open the arena in September.