The Nets and Liberty want to attract younger fans and the initiative is about to include a new youth training facility across from Barclays Center.
In its latest foray into “generational fandom,” BSE Global, parent company of the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty, announced Tuesday that the teams will open a youth basketball facility in the abandoned Modell’s store across from Barclays Center this fall.
From the press release:
The 18,600 sq. ft. Brooklyn Basketball Training Center will be operated by BSE Global’s flagship youth basketball program, Brooklyn Basketball – a program affiliated with the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty, created to establish a community-first basketball experience dedicated to nurturing young basketball players and enthusiasts to unlock their full potential on and off the court. The program ignites passion, builds skills and empowers young athletes– all while making the game more accessible than ever.
Brooklyn Basketball offers a wide range of camps, clinics, even international programs. It has the added benefit of enhancing BSE Global’s generational fandom effort. While Mikhail Prokhorov promised at the beginning of his tenure as Nets owner to “turn Knicks fans into Nets fans,” that was never going to work. Under Joe and Clara Wu Tsai — and especially BSE Global CEO Sam Zussman — the Nets are unabashedly trying to woo fans as young as 8-to-12 years old in hopes of creating an organic fanbase — “generational fandom” — particularly in the borough. At the same time, the community reaps benefits like the youth training center, among other things.
The press release included an architect’s rendering of what the facility will look like once Modell’s is fully renovated…
The plans have been in the works for a while. Last September, Norman Oder whose Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report tracks neighborhood developments, reported on the plan.
The center will be temporary, at least at this location. The Modell’s site, abandoned five years ago, along with the adjacent P.C. Richards store, is likely to become a two-tower residential, hotel and office complex with the taller of the two buildings rising to more than 900 feet once approvals are granted. That process will likely take years, however.
The corner of Flatbush and Atlantic is also seen as the center of BSE Global’s so far vague plans for an “ecosystem” modeled on LA LIVE!, the multi-billion dollar entertainment district centered on the former Staples Center. Included in the plan are both brick-and-mortar and online attractions starting with enhancements to Barclays Center and publications like BKMAG,
In the meantime, though, the facility will be yet another element in the two teams’ push to integrate their brands further into the borough.
Said Marissa Shorenstein, Chief External Affairs Officer, BSE Global. “This initiative is about more than just basketball—it’s about creating a safe, inclusive space where young people can learn, grow and connect – and by continuing to invest in our community programming, we’re building a stronger foundation for the future of the game and the neighborhoods we call home.”
“This facility will provide an incredible place for the youth of our borough to come together to not only receive exceptional on-court instruction, but to also learn the important values and life lessons this great game teaches,” added Jordi Fernandez.
The training facility, whose cost was not revealed, will include two full courts and a half court as well as a “‘shooting lab’ half court, auxiliary baskets, multi-purpose court flooring for other events, as well as cutting-edge technology and expert coaching,” per the release.
Also, it will “complement” BSE Global’s existing free community training program which operates in conjunction with the New York City Department of Education, the press release noted. That initiative has integrated basketball training into gym classes in 200 schools as well as community clinics that have reached 40,000 city school children. The training center, on the other hand, will offer after-school and weekend training, camps, daily clinics, advanced training and all-girls programs for a fee.
It will also be home to Brooklyn Basketball’s newest after-school program that will launch for the upcoming school year featuring age and skill-appropriate programs for ages 6-14 on weekdays, with Wednesdays devoted to all-girls training.
No specific date for the facility’s opening was given, but fall is when the Nets will open their season and the Liberty will likely be in the WNBA playoffs.
This of course is the second training facility to be announced this spring. In March, the Liberty announced that they will build an $80 million, 75,000 square foot training facility in Greenpoint.
- ‘A game-changer’: Brooklyn Basketball to open youth training facility on Flatbush Avenue this fall – Shara Levine – Brooklyn Paper
- BSE Global to Open New Multi-Court Youth Basketball Facility in Downtown Brooklyn – Brooklyn Nets
- BSE Global plans to transform shuttered Modell’s building across from arena into Brooklyn Basketball Training Center, by fall. “Community-first”? – Norman Oder – Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report.