On award for Sports Facility of the Year, Yormark says the lesson is "adapt to change" and the Barclays Center "was always about the community first"

The Barclays Center was designated Sports Facility of the Year at the Sports Business Journal’s Sports Business Awards this week, as Sports Business Daily reported 5/22/13, in 'It Was Quite A Journey,' Barclays Center's Yormark Says:

“It was quite a journey," said [Nets/Barclays Center CEO Brett] Yormark, adding that the Barclays Center has held 157 events, attracting 1.7 million people since opening with a series of Jay-Z concerts on September 28. "This is a culmination of an incredible journey, and it really is quite humbling."

"Adapt to change"

As quoted on the accompanying video (which was paraphrased somewhat in the article), Yormark was asked about the lessons:

"Adapt to change. It's never going to end up the way it started. And that certainly was our case, obviously a little more than most. We ended up making a lot of changes along the way, and I think many of them were changes for the better."

The changes, of course, included cutting the arena from 850,000 square feet to 675,000 square feet to preclude major league hockey--and then lucking out by having the New York Islanders agree to move.

One of the most important, but least discussed, was to treat the arena as a standalone facility, with no planned office tower at the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush avenues.

Community first?

On the video, Yormark states, "From Bruce Ratner, to our new partners at Onexim Sports and Entertainment, it was always about the community first, and embracing the community in every way we can. I think those that have visited the venue have realized it is all about Brooklyn, from the architecture to the people that work there to the food. It's been a great nine months."

And what about those $15 tickets "for the community"? After one year, they're $25.

As noted by Meadowlands Matters, the other nominees were Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas; JetBlue Park, Fort Myers, Fla.; Marlins Park, Miami; and Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles.