BSE Global's Brooklyn "ecosystem" expansion plan: hotel (at Site 5?), conference center, and new Brooklyn Media venture, including Brooklyn Magazine.

Leaning into Brooklyn, BSE Global CEO Sam Zussman sounds a little like (first Nets/arena CEO) Brett Yormark 2.0, but rather than simply cascading the buzz, he has real plans for an "ecosystem" of assets, including a hotel, conference center, and--as I reported in July--a new media venture.

How the Nets Plan to Build a Legit Fanbase: Business of Sports, Bloomberg reported yesterday. Because the Nets are are the only major league team with Brooklyn in their name--remember, it's the New York Liberty--“enhancing the value, enhancing the credibility, enhancing the attraction is good for us,” Zussman said.

In acquiring the digital property Brooklyn Magazine--this was the first acknowledgement--BSE will build "a venture called Brooklyn Media to promote the borough’s arts and culture scene,"according to Zussman. That invariably will include cross-promotion of BSE Global properties.

A hotel across the street?

While Zussman likened plans to LA Live, the entertainment district in Downtown Los Angeles around what's now Crypto.com arena, it would be difficult for BSE Global to do that in a more constricted space, unless it has a stake in some Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park properties.

It's possible that BSE envisions a hotel and/or conference center at Site 5, the parcel catercorner to the arena. After all, developer Greenland USA has proposed supersizing that project, and got support from state officials for a 550-room hotel as part of a two-tower complex.

If so, it won't be built immediately. It could take at least a year for the public approval process before construction at Site 5, and that process hasn't started. That's why BSE aims to hold basketball clinics in the empty Modell's building.

It's also plausible that BSE Global would partner with various hotels in Downtown Brooklyn. But a hotel across the street would surely become the location of choice for visiting teams, performers, and high-roller visitors.

A wine club, too

Bloomberg reported that BSE Global also will launch the Brooklyn Wine Club (sign-up here), which promises "A New Experience in the World of Wine" or, as the publication put it, "education and conversations with sommeliers at Barclays and possibly other venues."

Wine Industry Advisor reported Oct. 23 on a charity auction planned Oct. 28 at Barclays'Crown Club by "The Roots Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to addressing inclusivity in the wine and spirits industry."

The article described BSE Global as the "parent company of the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty, Barclays Center and Brooklyn Wine Club." So it's already known in the industry.

Even the Paramount

From Bloomberg:

BSE wants to invest in other venues around the borough, too. It’s already done that by taking a stake in the Brooklyn Paramount, a nearly century-old theater with a capacity of 2,700 that recently reopened after a lengthy renovation.

That link goes to a 2018 Billboard article about a previous renovation plan spearheaded by Mikhail Prokohorov's BSE, which was shelved. 

Live Nation later took on the job. While there's been no announcement that BSE Global has any stake in it, NetsDaily confirmed that it does.