Albert King was born in Brooklyn the year the Dodgers won a World Series — in Los Angeles. When King was born in 1959, Brooklyn had been without a pro team for two years. But that’s going to change when the Nets complete their long-awaited move for the 2012-13 season.
“I grew up five minutes from here, right on Flatbush and Myrtle Aves. A five minute walk,” King, a Fort Greene product, said yesterday during a Nets tour of the Barclays Center site where Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues converge. “Growing up in the 60’s, 70’s, no one ever would have thought we’d ever see anything like this.”
King, who played for the Nets from 1981-87, accompanied the tour for writers who regularly cover the team. He provided insight to mass transportation, tips on the “best of” the area and pointers to make the trek to the site convenient and worthwhile.
“Brooklyn is the fourth largest city, population-wise. It’s a borough, sure, but there are so many people here. And there’s a need. You have the Knicks, of course, but there’s still a need for basketball in this area,” King said. “There’s going to be affordable tickets for the lower income who want to see a game. And then there’ll be the corporate crowd and you’ll still have people coming from Jersey. I don’t think it’s going to be just a New York thing.”
Though some who have visited the site previously may have gone overboard in describing it, the plans, many of them borrowed or inspired by buildings across the nation, are grandiose and impressive for the 18,000-seat arena that’s on schedule to open in September, 2012. Above all, there will be a sense of area pride, stressed Nets’ general manager Billy King.
“I would equate this to the opening of the United Center in Chicago for what it did to that area or the Staples Center in Los Angeles for what it did for that area of L.A. and I think this will do the same thing for this area,” the GM said. “I think a building matters. This building will give a fan base the opportunity to walk a couple blocks to a game, or jump on a subway. Brooklyn will have its own team. If you grew up in Brooklyn, there’s going to be a sense of pride.”