Barclays Center releases May 2025 event calendar: seven concerts, four Liberty games, and eleven (unspecified) private events, mostly graduations.

The Barclays Center yesterday circulated its May 2025 event calendar, with eleven ticketed events: seven concerts (including three by Charli XCX and three by Rauw Alejandro) and four WNBA New York Liberty games. That's four more concerts than last year.

That said, owners of the arena company probably were hoping the Brooklyn Nets would be making a playoff run.

Note amplified sound on the plaza at 10 am May 17 for the Liberty's home opener, against their NBA finals rivals Las Vegas Aces.

The calendar is boosted a bit by including two events that boost the business or philanthropic interests of the arena company owners, BSE Global, controlled by Joe and Clara Wu Tsai: the free AAPI Night Market at the arena on May 13, as well as a May 15 Brooklyn Wine Club event for big spenders ($450 for members, $550 for non-members).

Private events

Note the eleven unspecified private events, which are mostly graduation ceremonies. Such lack of transparency disserves the slogan "Barclays Center Cares."

The information is worth sharing, so neighbors know when there might be crowds, especially early in the morning. The arena used to list such specifics.

For example, while there's purportedly a May 16 event at 9 am, Long Island University is instructing its graduates to line up at 8 am outside the arena's Dean Street entrance.

May 6: Unclear

May 12: Unclear

May 15: NYU Tandon School of Engineering

May 16, morning: LIU Brooklyn, Global, Hudson & College of Pharmacy

May 16, afternoon: The New School

May 22: TAAF (The Asian-American Foundation) All-Star Basketball Game

May 23: Brooklyn College

May 28, morning: Baruch College

May 28, afternoon: John Jay College of Criminal Justice

May 30, morning: CUNY School of Professional Studies

May 30, afternoon: Hunter College, CUNY

In 2024

The May 2024 event calendar included eight ticketed events: three concerts and five WNBA New York Liberty games.

While in 2023 the arena returned to listing, in the community calendar, non-public events like graduation ceremonies, in 2024 it did not, so I had to piece the list together without even knowing the dates.

So 2025 is a partial step forward, though still well behind past practice.