Latest Yormark p.r. stunt: enlist (part-time) Barclays Center employees to promote Nets, Islanders tickets

In 2009, Nets CEO Brett Yormark famously declared, "And if you know anything about the Nets, we drive business PR. That’s what we do. We’ve got a young man who runs our business communications department and his responsibility is every day to get a press release out."

So that's the context for the latest in offseason p.r., BROOKLYN NETS AND NEW YORK ISLANDERS SALES TEAMS GROW BY 1,900 SELLERS:

BROOKLYN (July 1, 2015) – Barclays Center has launched an Employee Referral Program for its 1,900 arena employees to promote season ticket sales for the Brooklyn Nets and New York Islanders.

With 80 percent of its employees residing in Brooklyn, Barclays Center is encouraging staffers to serve as sales representatives in their communities by providing referrals for potential ticket buyers for the borough’s two major professional sports teams.

Employees who make a successful referral will be rewarded with cash rewards, and will be entered into a raffle to win larger prizes including a season ticket package and a cruise. Brett Yormark, CEO of Barclays Center and the Brooklyn Nets, tipped off the initiative yesterday at Barclays Center with a rally for the employees on the Barclays Center Practice Court.

“Most of our employees are proud Brooklynites who strongly support our teams,” said Yormark. “This program vests them in the arena’s success.”

The Employee Referral Program comes on the heels of the Brooklyn Nets Neighborhood Day last Wednesday when more than 100 [mostly full-time, surely] Nets front office employees took to the streets to launch the team’s sales and marketing campaign.

Um, given that nearly all those employees are part-time, without benefits, and with a never-to-be revealed weekly take-home pay, they're not likely living next door to many people who have the extra cash to  buy a season ticket.

After all, as developer Bruce Ratner put it, having this part-time job allows them to have another! Wouldn't a program with real benefits also vest them in the arena's success?