Barclays Center "is expanding to add a presence in Los Angeles within the next three months,” according to Alex Ben Block of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark said that the “plan is to hire a veteran executive with close connections to the entertainment industry ‘who has spent time on the West Coast and knows how to navigate all the mines that exist.’” Block noted Barclays Center “is not expanding its business activities to L.A. or anywhere else outside the New York area, at least not yet,” but L.A. is “now on its radar with plans for the future.” Yormark: “Our goal is to create some scale in the New York metropolitan area. And then beyond that, selectively identify markets where it makes sense for us to go. We will only go to places we can control and own. We're not in the programming business per se. We're in the booking business.” Block reported Barclays Center's L.A.-based exec is “expected to feed a pipeline of artists, shows, concerts, family events, sporting events (including boxing) and more to venues controlled by Barclays and its affiliates.” The exec is “expected to not only supply talent and events” for Barclays Center and Cushman & Wakefield Theater, but also for Nassau Coliseum and Brooklyn Paramount Theater (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 4/13).
