Barclays Center is the new, world-class sports and entertainment venue that will serve as the anchor of the planned development and home to the NETS basketball team. The images and a model of the new designs will be available for public viewing at Brooklyn Borough Hall, beginning September 14, 2009.

The Barclays Center will be innovative in its look and will use materials like weathered steel and glass. The 675,000 square feet arena will be located at the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues in Brooklyn.

The arena has been designed to accommodate other buildings on the block that will be part of the Atlantic Yards development, including three mixed-income residential buildings and the commercial building known as B1, along with the urban room that will provide access to the Barclays Center.

The building consists of three separate but woven bands. The first engages the ground where the weathered steel exterior rises and lowers to create a sense of visual transparency, transitioning into a grand civic gesture that cantilevers out into a spectacular canopy at the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues.

The canopy, which is 30 feet above ground level, contains an oculus that frames the pedestrian’s view of the arena. The second, a glass band, allows for views from inside and outside of the arena. The third band floats around the roof of the Barclays Center and varies in transparency, the weathered steel creating backlit patterns.

The woven band of the canopy will flow out over the arena entrance, creating a seamless visual transition and helping to frame a large viewing portal into the seating area. The main concourse is placed right at street level, allowing a direct view to and from the street. Large areas of glass at street level make it not only pedestrian-friendly, but also encourages a strong visual connection to the surrounding urban neighborhood.

Construction is expected to begin on the arena later this year, with an anticipated opening during the 2011–12 NETS season.

William Crockett, principal and national director of Sports Architecture at

Ellerbe Becket, said, “One of the notable assets to the fan experience is the arena’s seating configuration, whether fans attend a NETS game or a concert at the Barclays Center, visitors will have a dramatically intimate view of the action plus a direct visual link of the surrounding neighborhood.”

The state of the art facility will have 18,000 seats for basketball and up to 19,000 seats for concerts. There will be 100 luxury suites, including 16 Brownstone Suites (16 seats each), 67 Loft Suites (10 seats each), 11 Courtside Suites, four Club Suites, and two Party Suites.

The arena will also include 40 loge boxes, six clubs and restaurants, and the Barclays Center Practice Facility on site.

The Barclays Center currently has eight Founding Partners, including ADT,

Anheuser-Busch, Cushman & Wakefield, EmblemHealth, MGM Grand at Foxwoods, MetroPCS Communications, Jones Soda Co., and Phillips-Van Heusen.