Newsday checks in on why the Atlantic Yards arena, no matter what it looks like, would be such a boon for the Nets in terms of revenue: "The 'Brooklyn' brand is expected to be an instant merchandising success. The change in address alone will increase the value of the franchise—Forbes ranks the Nets 26th in value ($295 million) in the 30-team NBA; the Knicks ($613 million) are No. 1—but Forbes senior editor Kurt Badenhausen says the move into a more viable arena will be the biggest asset. 'They will control all of the revenues at the arena,' Badenhausen said. 'Right now, they share a significant amount of the revenues at the Izod Center with the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.'" The story says that if the team actually does move to Brooklyn, it would both tap into Dodgers nostalgia and create a money-making rivalry between the Nets and the Knicks on par with the one that exists between the Mets and the Yanks. Still, as the story notes, "though the Nets already have a 20-year, $400-million naming-rights deal with Barclays, and 28 to 30 percent of suites have been sold before the shovel hits the ground in the fall - they will need to generate a great deal of revenue just to be able to pay off the ambitious project and still remain viable at the same time."
Nets Expected to Thrive With 'Brooklyn' Brand [Newsday]
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