The Barclays Center has some new additions this year, and we’re not talking about Michael Porter Jr., Terance Mann, or the five rookies they secured via the draft.
Nope. With their first home game against
the Cleveland Cavaliers on October 24th, the Brooklyn Nets and BSE Global opened Gallagher Terrace, a premium membership club offering the arena’s only in-seat dining with waiter service, and The Modelo Bridge, an upper concourse fan zone area that’s accessible to all guests and features the arena’s most expansive bar, spanning 67 feet in length.
“We wanted to understand who was doing what, what venues were approaching hospitality through what lenses, and in doing all of that research, we identified that the way fans were enjoying hospitality in this type of a setting was evolving,” said Shannon Ferguson, BSE Global’s Chief Hospitality Officer and as such, the executive in charge of all the arena’s restaurants and clubs. “In getting a better understanding of that, we wanted to get in front of that as much as we could.“
To design the spaces, BSE worked with architecture design firm Populous, which helped design venues for countless sport-related events, including the Olympic Games and the MLB at Field of Dreams.
Ferguson, who’s been in the hospitality industry for 29 years and with BSE for two , led the project. He shared what went into the new venues, what the organization hopes to accomplish with each, and what else is on the horizon in terms of upgrading the home fan experience.
The Modelo Bridge
The Bridge gives fans a more communal way to take in games. The balcony-like area runs along the north baseline and welcomes all attendees. For those of you familiar with Yankee Stadium, it has a dynamic similar to the Mastercard Batter’s Eye Deck.
Before designing The Bridge, Ferguson experienced his first experience watching a game at Barclays Center in upper concourse, which he identified as an area of opportunity to support fans which other arenas or venues might overlook.
“We have over 8,000 of our fans that are based in the upper concourse — there’s a chance for us to create an experience that’s specific to them,” he said. “When you’re sitting up there, you look down, and you try to figure out how it is that you’re going to find your way to be on the court. You want to be as close as you possibly can. Now, whoever’s sitting on the court is going, ‘What the heck is going on up there in the upper concourse?’…So, as a fan, you’re actually drawn in as a part of the entirety of the overall game presentation in the area. You’ve got a way to be a part of it without actually knowing that you’re truly going to be a part of it.”
More than anything, Ferguson wanted to create something that can elevate anyone’s experience, whether they’re sitting in nose-bleed territory or anywhere else.
“We want something that is premium in nature for everybody within the entirety of the arena,” Ferguson said. “So, we took a little bit of a surgical approach and created this puzzle where all of the pieces have naturally started to come together, and created an overarching premium experience in the entirety of the arena.”
For The Bridge and the Gallagher Terrace, Ferguson noted he and his team held focus groups with current fans including season ticket holders. They even spoke with random fans walking around the concourse to gather intel on what they were looking for in a fan experience. Then, they opted to create something elevated, more social, and of course, true to Brooklyn.
“The way that fans are experiencing games, concerts, and events, it’s evolving,” Ferguson said. “We wanted to create something that matched that and actually even enhanced what fans were wanting to experience within an arena before they even stepped into it. So, when they step in, they’re like, ‘Wow, this is something that is exceptional. It’s something that’s different. It’s something that’s truly forward thinking.‘ It’s not necessarily typical of what they’ve been able to experience, not only here, but in other arenas as well.”
With the design itself, Ferguson also mentioned the Bridge drew inspiration from all the bridges that connect the other boroughs to Brooklyn, including the iconic one. It’ll later have art installed upstairs that’s sourced by local artists.
The Gallagher Terrace
As for the Gallagher Terrace, you’ll find that above and off to the side from where The BK Block section used to be, on Suite Level A with the banquettes equivalent to the 100-Level of the seating bowl. In developing it, Ferguson noted they drew inspiration from the Brooklyn’s roots.
“Everything that we’ve done has really been through the lens of Brooklyn,” Ferguson said. “We’re right out in front of the Gallagher Terrace, that’s inspired from the Gilded Age of Brooklyn, and through that design, we feel like we were really able to achieve something that was a bit forward thinking.”
The terrace is the only space in the entirety of the arena that has banquette seating and where you receive your own dedicated servers to enhance the experience. It’s exclusively open to guests with memberships in Gallagher Terrace, also offering them access to the club plus additional benefits.
“In partnership with Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment, Gallagher is proud to unveil Gallagher Terrace at Barclays Center. This newly renovated space provides an opportunity for fans to gather and celebrate,” said Chris Mead, Chief Marketing Officer at Gallagher, back in October. “We’re proud of our commitments to the communities where we live, work and play, helping us to better connect with our partners, clients and fans in the New York market.”
The Barclays Center also renovated its Garden Bar on the arena’s main concourse during the offseason, partnering with The Brooklyn Home Company to redesign six backstage dressing rooms for talent performing at the arena. Ferguson said that these projects mark the end of “phase two” of a five year, $100+ million plan involving further upgrades to the Barclays Center. Phase three is set to commence in springtime of next year.
Among the announced projects coming down the pipeline are a grand sculpture by Sarah Sze in the Barclays Center atrium. It’s still in the works but another work, by Rashid Johnson, a New York, “Anxious Audience, is currently featured at the Guggenheim Museum and will be moved to Barclays Center at the close of the Guggenheim show next month.
There also plans for more improvements to the upper concourse, a new audio system and a grander scoreboard. And that’s just the public plans. The Tsais also want to cast Barclays as the centerpiece of an entertainment district modeled on the multi-billion LA LIVE!
