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It's no secret that New Yorkers love sports. We're dedicated to our teams, even when they're down, and we love to rep them all year long. Nothing brings us together like a winning season, and there's no better place for us to get together, than the arenas and stadiums our teams call home. In Brooklyn, that means Barclays Center.
From the moment construction started in 2010, Barclays Center made some noise. The venue was a welcome add for the sport- and concert-obsessed (it meant they no longer had to trek to Madison Square Garden for the arena experience, and that Brooklyn was getting a basketball team). But it was also pretty controversial among locals at the time (fears of soaring housing prices, the destruction of neighborhood culture and displacement of residents ran rampant).
Sixteen years later, thanks to the fans that fill it, Barclays Center has only grown louder, hosting championship teams (I’m talking about the New York Liberty, sorry Nets fans) some iconic music performances, Disney on Ice and much more. And as we look at what the arena has seen, we wanted to give you a unique peek behind the doors from someone who knows it inside and out.
Meet Zachary Elliott, a 24-year-old Barclays Center tour guide. Born in Brooklyn, Elliott moved around a bit before eventually landing back in the borough. Along the way, thanks to a childhood stint in New Jersey, he became a Nets fan, and when he saw the job listing at their NYC home last year, he jumped at it. Elliott’s been in the role for more than a year now and has certainly picked up on the inside scoop.
On an average day, you can find him working between two- and four-hour shifts, totally fueled by Snapple Apple—"it’s so great for like ’ready to go.’ If you have a sore throat or something, it’s gone for at least an hour after a Snapple Apple." On days with back-to-back tours, he's grabbing lunch at 7th Street Burger inside the arena, or using his employee discount at Fini Pizza just outside the front doors.
According to Elliott, the best time to be working at Barclays is during the WNBA season. "The Liberty fans just are so great on these tours," he says. "They’re just so excited to be in the building ... it’s somethin’ else. Those fans are diehards; they’re coming from all over, it’s just great."
And as for what makes Barclays special? "It’s just right in the middle of everything," he says. "It feels like it’s so a part of Brooklyn at this point. This is the greatest borough in the greatest city, and it’s right in the middle of it. It can have anything for anybody, right where anyone can get to it."
So as the WNBA season comes to a close and the NBA picks up, learn all about Brooklyn’s home court. Here's Elliott's tips for what to eat, where to go and when to visit.
The season Barclays Center is most alive
Liberty season. I’ve been there for pregame tours on playoff game days for the Liberty and the second those doors open it’s just buzzin’. That’s probably gotta take it, but the arena will get good for anything.
The best food item in Barclays
Our popcorn is great. I feel like I’ve eaten our popcorn more than anything else. We used to give it out for free on tours—that hasn’t been true for a little bit. I’d love it if we started doing that again, ’cause then there’s always extra for tour guides. Steph Curry rated it highly. There’s a video about the people that make it, it’s just these two lovely ladies, they’re awesome. So, popcorn every time.
The best seat in the house for a basketball game
I think I’ve sat in the lower bowl once and it was awesome just being down there. As close as you can get. There’s better views in certain places—like, you want to sit center court if you’re gonna sit up high, so I’d usually pick center court if I’m gonna be in the nosebleeds. But, if you can get down in the bowl, maybe your view isn’t as good if you’re in a corner slot, but I think it’s just such a good energy down there that it’s worth it.
And for a concert
The concert stages can be in different spots. Sometimes they’re just on one side of the arena, so you wanna be, I’d say, facing it, not to the side. But if the stage is in the center of the arena I feel like you can’t go wrong, every seat’s got a decent view.
Spots to explore around Barclays
You can pop over to Prospect Park kind of easily. Fort Greene is also pretty great, like Fort Greene Park, there’s pretty good food up there. I used to always try and find a new spot to eat and then take it into the park.
How to spend time before or after an event
When people are coming from deep in New Jersey and they’re just getting in and out, I’m like, why? If you’ve got some time, walk through Park Slope and, when it’s nice, eat outside at a restaurant down there—that’s a great way to spend your day before an event. After events, I feel like everyone jumps to join the traffic on the street or inside Atlantic Terminal on the most crowded train ever. So I think it would be smart to take like 30 minutes, go walk around, let that die down. There’s so many places to grab a quick bite or a drink, you can’t go wrong.
The most fascinating thing about Barclays
How we transition from one event to another. A lot of days in the year we’re going from a concert to basketball or something just overnight, and usually there’s no evidence at all that there was an event the night before. One of my first days when I started—I think it was one of the last games of the Liberty season—Nine Inch Nails had a concert the night before. Everything was all set for gameday, you’ve got players shooting around, and this confetti kept coming down from the video board. Then, all of a sudden, the video board was sitting on the court—’cause it can come all the way down to the floor—and there was just guys with leaf blowers trying to get confetti out of it. It’s just odd, how it all comes together; how much work goes into making that possible. I don’t think you really appreciate it as a fan until you see the process. But I’m always struck by how they pull it off every single time—they always pull it off.
Barclays Center's best, worst-kept secrets
We show it on tours, but anyone with suite-level tickets (including Gallagher Terrace and the new Amex Lounge) can walk around up there. We currently have an art installation that showcases Liberty players and has essays written by their loved ones about them. If you have time, go check that out. It’s so personal and gives you a better idea of who these star players are.
The coolest part of the arena
One of my favorite things is how everything gets into the building: the loading dock. I think it’s the best spot on the tour. People disagree with me about that—it’s not the most glamorous spot—but it always wows me to see how we get it all in. We have this giant turntable—we’re the only venue in the country that has it—these trucks will drive into a freight elevator, they come down into the building through that, drive onto this turntable that rotates them around. Players’ cars are parked down there before games, it was a bullpen when we had professional bull riding. That’s always the place I think is the coolest. You never know what you’re gonna get: One time, I ended up blocking Breanna Stewart’s car door while I was stumbling through the script.
This interview has been edited and condensed for publication.