Twelve months after a "high profile groundbreaking" for the $1B Barclays Center in Brooklyn, "concrete and steel testify to the reality of the Nets' pending exit from New Jersey," according to John Brennan of the Bergen RECORD. Arena officials said that "about 30 percent of the steel is already up, and the foundation is 70 percent complete." The precast steps "will be put in place within the next 30 days or so, giving a sense of the bowl." The "first part of the facade is expected to be in place by mid-July, and the roof should be in place by year's end." The 18,000-seat arena "will have what team officials say is a unique weathered-steel facade, with a 35,000-square-foot outdoor plaza greeting fans at Atlantic and Flatbush avenues." Nets CEO Brett Yormark: "We've been talking to artists and promoters, and the biggest names in the business want to play here. I think our opening-month celebration is going to be unprecedented." Yormark added that the "concert schedule that will serve as the 'soft launch' for the arena, and the opening date for the Nets should be announced soon." Brennan noted arena officials are "boldly declaring that the Barclays Center will attract more than 200 events in its first year -- an unusually high number, although not all of those events will use the entire seating bowl." As for Nets fans, Yormark said that season-ticket holders "will begin receiving invitations to reserve Barclays Center seats in the next 10 days." Yormark added that all 16 "brownstone suites," featuring 16 seats each, "have sold out at $450,000 apiece." Yormark said about 40% of the suites are sold overall, with the "nine most-expensive, event-level, Jay-Z-designed suites being held off the market until the fall" (Bergen RECORD, 3/28).
