With questionable timing, BSE Global reveals plan to swap 30 suites for freer-flowing club spaces, one inspired by (?!?) historic brownstones

After less than 12 years, the Barclays Center needs work to stay competitive. Now comes a swap of 30 suites (of 87) for club-like spaces called The Row and The Key, accommodating a total of 436 seats.

Latest renovations will help Barclays Center offer fans high-end F&B and more interaction, Sports Business Journal reported March 18:

Twelve-year-old Barclays Center is still the fifth-newest building in the NBA, with arguably its most unique exterior, but it’s well down the line in recent years in terms of major capital expenditures, whether on a new building or renovation. And new ones are in the pipeline, including the Clippers’ Intuit Dome, which opens this fall.

“When you’re outside the arena, a ton of people come by, they take photos of the exterior, it’s ranked one of the top venues in the 2010s globally,” said Shanon Ferguson, BSE Global chief hospitality officer, in his first sports job after more than a dozen years in the hospitality world. “The experience indoors, it’s still great. With a lot of different arenas doing remodels, with Intuit coming, we felt it was an appropriate time to reinvest for the experience of the fans, and we committed to it.”

Reinvesting in the fan experience--"no walls, and a more social experience," to quote SBJ--or maybe finding new sources of revenue? After all, the spaces come with naming rights.

Questionable timing

Perhaps the Nets aimed the announcement to distract from the team's struggles, but many found it unfortunate, with fans taking potshots on Twitter suggesting owner Joe Tsai and GM Sean Marks should be replaced.

.@BSE_Global is revealing a major renovation of @barclayscenter, the largest since its opening 12 years ago. Suite Level B, designed by @Populous, will undergo a complete renovation.

30 suites are being replaced by 'The Row' & 'The Key', spaces with their own unique atmosphere. pic.twitter.com/NECtIf37im

— Sports Business Journal (@SBJ) March 18, 2024

While the price tag has not been disclosed, it won't be cheap. But the potential new Koch investment, estimated at $480 million to $720 million, could more than cover it.

How many suites?

From the article: "Losing the 30 suites leaves Barclays Center with 57; most NBA arenas have around 60. The two new clubs hold 436 guests total — 252 in The Key and 184 in The Row. Pricing for seats isn’t yet set."

Interesting. As I've written, earlier hype had the Brooklyn arena with 170 suites, then 130, then 100-105, then 90-96. Maybe they're too expensive to sell steadily, especially when the team isn't doing well.

Like a brownstone rowhouse?

From the article:

Membership to The Row comes with access to Nets and Liberty games as well as Barclays Center events (with certain exceptions), a private VIP entrance, theater-style reserved seating, all-inclusive dining and a full-service private bar, premium wines with access to a team of sommeliers, and a dessert station featuring fresh gelato. Measuring just more than 12,000 square feet, The Row, featuring the herringbone floors and wainscot paneling of an upscale Brooklyn brownstone rowhouse (hence the name), is sold in increments of four through an annual license, though seats can be sold in pairs or on an individual event basis

I'm not so sure about that. Looks a little spacious to me.

From the Nets

On the Nets' website for The Row, they lean in:

Inspired by the historic brownstones found throughout Brooklyn, fans can immerse themselves in a luxurious ambience and elegantly designed atmosphere, with natural daylight subtly entering the space through fluted glass windowpanes. Members will have access to the Qatar Airways VIP Entrance and luxurious upholstered theater box seating. Members will also enjoy an all-inclusive buffet dining experience and a dessert station, as well as access to a full-service private bar and premium wine offerings (alcohol available for purchase).

Sure, most brownstones are entered via the Qatar Airways VIP entrance.

Here's the website text for The Key:

The Key provides members an elevated in-arena club experience mirroring center court with a communal atmosphere.

Through a reflection of Brooklyn’s vibrant park and streetball culture, fans feel as engaged with the game or show as they are with friends, family, and guests. Members will have access to luxury suite-style reserved seating. Members will also enjoy an all-inclusive buffet dining experience and a dessert station, as well as access to a full-service private bar and premium wine offerings (alcohol available for purchase).

What next?

From SBJ:

More work is in the Barclays Center’s future, too, including what Stover described as the broad category of helping people move through the building more easily. The venue’s upper concourse is almost certainly in the crosshairs, too, though Stover and Ferguson were vague about what’s next.

Maybe they haven't figured it out, but, yes, the upper concourse needs work.