The DBNA is taking applications (due March 31) for Brooklyn nonprofits/CBOs to be eligible for free tickets to Barclays Center events. Will drawings resume?

The Downtown Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance (DBNA), one of the only active remaining signatories of the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement (CBA), is taking applications for its 2022-23 Community Tickets Program, in which Brooklyn-based nonprofits and community-based organizations, especially those in areas near the arena, get free tickets to Barclays Center events, including but not limited to Brooklyn Nets games.

Groups can win tickets for seating in 50 upper bowl seats, 4 lower bowl seats, or a suite. The application is here, and below. The deadline is 5 pm on March 31.

Program began in 2012

The DBNA, founded by the Rev. Herbert Daughtry, started distributing free tickets when the arena opened in 2012 and, according to its website, has distributed more than 85,000 tickets to more than 600 community organizations. 

It regularly held in-person and livestream drawings to distribute the tickets until the pandemic closed Barclays Center in early 2020. The last livestream on the group's DBNA TV YouTube page was 2/27/20.

The drawings apparently went on pause, though it's not clear if (or in what way) the program did. (A few commenters on the 1/26/32 Facebook page above right wrote "Welcome back.")

While my query to the DBNA didn't get a response, a representative of the arena said the tickets program didn't pause on their end. (I'll post an update when I learn more.)

Past plans

A 3/5/21 Facebook post, at right, indicated that the Community Tickets Program would resume when the arena reopened a week later, with complimentary tickets offered to registered organizations. (Note the now-departed Nets' superstars.)

There was no mention of a drawing. The DBNA's revised procedures apparently related to new health and safety protocols for the arena, as it was emerging from Covid.

A 9/24/21 posting on Facebook, below right, alerted existing Community Partner organizations with approved applications to renew or update their place in the DBNA database, indicating eligibility to receive tickets.

The posting encouraged other Brooklyn-based nonprofits to apply. But no drawings were announced.

In 2022, there was no announcement--like the one below right or the current one at top--for organizations to participate in the 2022-23 season.

The DBNA's social media don't indicate any drawings in the past few years, so tickets were apparently distributed in another way.

General practices

The DBNA's somewhat out-of-date FAQ says tickets are distributed via livestream drawings on YouTube, impromptu Facebook drawings, in-person sweepstakes events, and by request. 

(Regarding the latter, "All NY Islanders tickets are by requests and those requests are typically honored." That's out of date, since the Islanders left Brooklyn in 2020.)

According to the DBNA's history of the program, research showed that random drawings worked best, at least pre-pandemic:

***The most effective way to disseminate the tickets would be at a monthly Community Event. At this Event, the names of registered organizations would randomly be chosen for Barclays Center games and events. This system not only provides transparency but also ensures that every organization has an equal and fair chance of winning!!!

Who's eligible? From the DBNA:

The sweepstakes will be managed for residents of the entire borough of Brooklyn, prioritizing Community Boards 2, 3, 6, and 8 (the areas nearest to Barclays Center)... Eligible organizations include community-based and not-for-profit organizations; schools (public or charter); educational organizations, and religious organizations within the abovementioned Community Board Districts.