On Saturday I made my first trip to the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival triple header.
I heard some negative things about the exterior but I actually had no problem with it. I thought the whole promenade area outside the main entrance was very well done. The 360 degree screen is a very nice touch. I can see why people might be put off by the "rust" color of the exterior but I don't mind it. It's a nice change from the concrete looking boxes that everyone else seems to play in. I'm willing to see how it ages before I bash it's outside aesthetic.
Even though I'm now in my mid-30's and have been to hundreds of sporting events, I still feel the anticipation of walking through the gate and seeing the playing surface in person . My favorite thing about the Barclays really plays off that. Normally when you enter a venue, you start on the concourse and have to find your gate number, walk through the narrow hall and into the arena. Here, you get your ticket checked and straight ahead you are already looking at the scoreboard and you can walk right up and overlook the court. It's something that I've never seen at a sports venue before and something I greatly appreciated.
I didn't like everything about it though. Other than the overlook of the floor, the rest of the building doesn't really have a lot of personality. It was just nice and new but nothing special. A lot of good food options though.
Even though I am in my mid-30's and should have reached the point where I just buy tickets where I want to sit, I'm still a "buy the cheap seats and move down" guy. Next time I go to the Barclays Center I will most definitely just buying my tickets in one of the lower two sections. The level 200 is just too steep of an angle for me personally to enjoy a basketball game. Probably my least favorite view of an indoor sporting event I've ever had. Luckily for me, I was able to move down to mid-court about 10 rows off the floor for the middle game of the triple-header and were able to give the usher a few bucks to sit us in the lower section for the third game. But I don't want to take the chance of not being able to move down next time I'm there. For viewing a game, I'll take the Garden over the Barclays every time.
Starting not one but two paragraphs "Even though I am in my mid-30's" is indicative of some kind of age obsession I didn't pick up on at all on Saturday lol!
ReplyDeleteIf I was in my mid to late 20s I would respond to this differently.
ReplyDeleteThe new Barclays Center from front to the end. It's totally different and new look is too cool.
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