Nets arena delayed again

Forest City Ratner Company, the organization responsible for building the New Jersey Nets new arena said Monday, that the team's new home in Brooklyn, may not be ready for the 2010-2011 season. It has been delayed several times, as recently as January. The arena will no longer feature a green roof, and the intial design will be very different. Bruce Ratner owns the commercial real estate agency building the arena, and is also the principal owner of the Nets. He has owned the team for four seasons and plans to move the franchise to Brooklyn, which has not had a pro team since the Dodgers left in 1957. The Nets have been playing their home games at the Izod Center in the Meadowlands sports complex since 1981. The Nets drew an average of 15,656 fans per game which ranked 21st in the NBA last season. By moving to Brooklyn, Ratner hopes to draw more fans from NYC and Long Island. Located at the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush avenue it is located by the MTA/LIRR rail yards. The Barclays Center, which was planned to open for the 2010 season, would cost around $3.5 billion to build. The British based bank paid around $300-400 million dollars over 20 years for the naming rights. Seating capacity for Net games would be 18,000 with 118 executive suites and 12 courtside suites. The 850,000 square foot center could also hold college basketball games, concerts, award shows, ice shows and circuses. There was a discussion the Barclays Center could be venue for the 2013-2014 NBA All Star game. President Rod Thorn and General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe have had a busy year. During the season, the management duo shipped Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks, and this past off-season they traded fan favorite Richard Jefferson to the Milwuakee Bucks. Jefferson signed a six-year, $78 million dollar extension in 2004. The Nets also aquired a first round pick from the Golden State Warriors for backup point guard Marcus Williams. These moves were seemingly done to put themselves under the salary cap in the summer of 2010 to potentially make a run at superstar LeBron James. However, with the new arena delayed again, it will be interesting to see how this could affect his decision.