A New Look for Barclays Center
Barclays Center is set to undergo a significant transformation next season, starting with the entrance. Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment (BSE) has revealed new details about the ongoing $150 million renovation project that began two years ago. The project initially focused on creating two new clubs, the Toki Row and Jet Blue Lounge, in what were previously 30 suite spaces. It has since expanded to include other high-end clubs like The Gallagher Terrace and more accessible areas such as Modelo Bridge, which dominates the west end of the arena.
Now, the five-year project is moving into the entrance spaces, particularly the atrium, where the most notable changes will occur. The Tsais and Kochs are not only reimagining the look of this 13-year-old space but also enhancing the experience with art installations. One of the highlights is an airborne sculpture by New York artist Sarah Sze, suspended from the ceiling, along with an 180-degree LED wall by SNA Displays that wraps the interior.
Although BSE hasn’t released images or much detail about the new sculpture called “Wave,” they described it as follows:
As viewers move through the space, these shifting sequences register differently from each vantage point, producing a sensation of cresting movement that is never fixed but constantly in flux. Serving as both a dynamic focal point and an experiential threshold, Wave transforms the atrium into a dynamic field of light, motion, and perception.
Sze’s most prominent work in the New York area is her “Shorter than the Day,” another airborne sculpture at LaGuardia’s Terminal B, featuring 1,500 photos of the New York sky, arranged from dawn, to midday, to dusk.
The atrium will also feature other aesthetic changes, led by the 360-degree LED wall, and a redesign of the lobby.
Art in Every Corner
Art will be a central theme of the overall renovation. Outside on the Oculus, “Art on the Hour” will present a new digital art series in partnership with Barclays Bank. The program will showcase 60-second works on the Oculus screen at the top of each hour, each by a single artist each month. That program will debut next month.
Nearby on Ticketmaster Plaza, Brooklyn-native Kambui Olujimi will present “We Always Have Room For One More,” a group of seven bronze historical and fictional characters playing the local street game Skelly.
At the new American Express entrance and lounge on Flatbush Avenue, there will be two large-scale paintings by Rashid Johnson and Mark Bradford. Clara Wu Tsai, vice-chairman of BSE and sponsor of various other art installations, said, “The artists in this program aren’t simply participants, they have helped us consider and ultimately realize how we create space for art in public life.”
Among other things, she has shepherded the “You Belong Here/We Belong Here” video sculpture above the Barclays Center subway entrance and “The Liberty Portraits: A Monument to the 2024 Champions,” the plaza photo installation honoring the 2024 WNBA champion New York Liberty.
“Brooklyn has one of the greatest concentrations of creative talent anywhere in the world, and Barclays Center is one of its busiest transit points. This program places art in dialogue with the architecture and daily rhythm of the plaza, redefining what a sports arena can be for fans, players, and the public.”
The new Amex entrance will provide direct access to the main concourse and, via a grand staircase, the suite level. The lounge includes “American Express-inspired” artwork, a full private bar with specialty cocktails for purchase, and panoramic views overlooking Flatbush Ave., 5th Ave., and the main atrium.
Expanding the Experience
Earlier this year, BSE also announced a redesign for the event-level space that once housed the Calvin Klein and Qatar Airways lounge. The 9,000-square-foot space will essentially retain its primary function but receive an aesthetic update. Its new name will be revealed later in the year, says BSE.
The new design, by Populous, is inspired by “Dumbo,” the term used for the areas of Manhattan and Brooklyn either side of the East River and the Brooklyn Bridge. Like Dumbo, the renovated club will have exposed concrete and steel trusses.
Behind-the-Scenes Upgrades
The enhancements also include some behind-the-stage additions, including stars’ dressing rooms, an upgrade for the arena’s LED content management system, new broadcast cameras, video switcher, router, instant replay, graphics, and intercom. (No word on an upgrade of the arena’s often troubled Wi-Fi.)
In the future, the program will include a new scoreboard and enhancements to the audio systems.
Before the latest renovations, the arena, while one of the NBA’s newest arenas, was seen, as Sports Business Journal wrote in early 2024, “well down the line in recent years in terms of major capital expenditures, whether on a new building or renovation.”
Since then, Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment got a cash infusion when the Tsais’ sold 15% of the company for $688 million to members of the Koch family, led by Julia Koch and including her three children, one of whom, David Koch Jr., has been a basketball operations assistant working for Sean Marks. At the time, Joe Tsai said he intended to plow much of the cash into the arena and fan experience.
