It’s conspiracy theory time.
The Nets don’t want you to go to Newark and see them play at the newest arena in America. Sure, I found a link on their website to a Ticketmaster calendar page, but you’ll find information on the team’s senior citizen dance squad and ways to view the site in Chinese before you find anything about their “regional branding” initiative, which for all you Harry Potter fans out there, is Parseltongue for “We are pinned between a rock and a hard place because we sold out New Jersey a few years ago, but no one else wants us and the economy crashed at the worst possible time for us to jump the sinking ship we scuttled ourselves in the first place.” So yeah, “regional branding” has a better ring to it.
I spoke with a sales rep on their live online chat, asking about tickets to the games against the Celtics and Knicks. Here was the rep’s verbatim response:
“since it’s not our venue, the Devils are selling the individual seats”
It's going to take more than a few billboards to get people to see NBA ball in Newark. Thanks for the helping hand, Nets. Real team players...
That’s not true, because I called the Devils immediately afterward to find out if this was true, and I was told it was not. However, tickets can be purchased at prucenter.com, the Rock’s box office, or Ticketmaster, so I will assume the Nets rep was simply misinformed or lazy with his verbiage as opposed to an outright liar.
I shouldn’t be surprised. Since the Nets can’t sell tickets to their own arena, why would they even attempt to do so at another? Especially since this Newark test run, as some may see it, is an absolute farce.
If the Nets draw well for these two games, it gives all the naysayers of owner Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project ammunition to further debunk the construction of the Brooklyn arena, which I nominate to be called the Roland Martin Bait and Switch Center if the Barclay’s deal somehow falls apart.
If the attendance tanks at the Rock – which is what I believe the Nets hope for, thus their lack of promotion/selling of these games – ownership will be able to shed all the “Just move to Newark already!” talk that has plagued them for months and justify the move to Brooklyn as their messiah. (The move to Newark would make too much sense and force too much pride to be swallowed by too many people.)
I think it’s fairly obvious that this was the intent from day one. Not promoting your own event because it’s not your building? Okay. Whatever you say. Does anyone know of any successful band or musician that owns their own arena? No? They still promote their shows, right? Then again, all this BS is coming from a team that markets their opponents more aggressively than themselves because no one wants to actually see the Nets.
NOTE: None of this may even matter anymore, now that Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov is committed to taking a controlling interest (aka financial albatross) in the team from current owner Bruce Ratner. But that’s beside the point.
September 30th, 2009 at 9:44 am
It’s definitely insulting that they are looking to ditch NJ; I heard about that investor a few weeks back. But I also heard that a number of Brooklyn residents don’t want the Nets…they want that space used for something else…kind of a side note but looks like the Nets are irritating 2 groups of people simultaneously
September 30th, 2009 at 11:13 am
Ah they can have their concrete box – let it sink into the swamp!
September 30th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
I have been a Nets Fan since 1988. I waited on line outside in the pouring raining 12 hours to watch them play in the NBA Finals. It’s not that New Jersey doesn’t want the Nets or there aren’t die hard fans out there.
It’s that the Nets purposefully priced the fans out of the market to move them to another venue for bigger money. The Nets can’t sell tickets because they diss the fans. Can anyone say Major League?
I am supporting the Nets at the ROCK. Just waiting on a closing and boom. I’m buying to see my team play either Boston or NY Knicks.
One thing you said in the above post that struck a cord:
I may be only person on the planet that wants to see the team play. I don’t care who they play, just that they play.
I was hurt when Ratner gave away Keyon Martin. I am even more hurt that Brooklyn’s groundbreaking is in Dec. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
September 30th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
It’s preseason. The attendance shouldn’t be a basis on whether or not they should move to the Rock. But if they at least 14,000 for any of these games it will be a huge success.
September 30th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
I remember reading that former gov. McGreevey got this whole Brooklyn move going (arguably indirectly) by not approving for the Nets to move to Newark in the first place. Then he signed some agreement to bring NJ Transit to the Meadowlands as some type of consolation prize. Then he got outed (in more ways than one), the Nets switch owners to Bruce Ratner (which was a dumb move) and he only cared about this dumb move from jump.
I’ve been a Nets fan since I was a kid. Sure they can’t even sell out in the Izod Center but who’s to say they’ll have some renaissance in Brooklyn. I really don’t want them to become the east coast clippers but it looks like that’s gonna happen.
September 30th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
I bought tickets for both games already.
I am supporting The Rock more than the Nets since I will not attend any games at The Swamp this season.
Everyone needs to doe their best to talk to their friends about these games at The Rock. Let’s make a statement and support Newark.
October 1st, 2009 at 8:00 am
AP, sorry for projecting my personal disdain for the Nets as a general rule that everyone subscribes to. Obviously, there are fans out there. If no one went to the games, the team would be long gone already. But YOU are exactly the person that is getting raped by that shoddy organization. By announcing a move to Brooklyn 5 years before a shovel touched the ground, by scrapping the “New Jersey” from their road uniforms, they turned their back on you, yet like a needy lover, you’re still there for them. I don’t know how I’d feel if my Devils ever officially announced they were ditching me, so I’m not criticizing you for your stance, and it must be tough, but I have less than zero respect for that operation, given the way they’ve pooped all over their fanbase and hometown/state.
October 1st, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Well I think the whole Brooklyn thing is exactly what’s wrong with emminent domain. Check out the website http://www.atlanticyardsreport.com/
Norman Order really points out how the policitcally connected are using both NYS NYC and Federal tax dollars to subsidize the Ratner Machine. I used to like Bloomberg before following this. This is bad goverment like what happened witht he Mullberry st Redevelopment. People get greedy, don’t do things the right way and let one developer make tons of money.
October 1st, 2009 at 6:47 pm
The Nets are having “Netoberfest”, a block party, in front of The Rock on Wed. October 7th. It’s free to everyone. Interesting that they would by choice have an event at The Rock when they have no interest in playing there, isn’t it? http://www.nba.com/nets/netstoberfest_2009.html
My theory is that they will play in Newark starting next year either permanately or atleast temperarily until Brooklyn is built.
Move to Newark, Nets!
October 1st, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Also, you can get $20 lower level seats for the Newark games if you enter the code “TEAM5″ into the promo box on ticketmaster.
Help Newark and help save a team!
October 2nd, 2009 at 9:04 am
Yes, take this link for the Boston game, http://www.prucenter.com/default.asp?id=87&objid=531, and use the TEAM5 promo code for the $25 seats and your total cost will be under $50 including Ticketnaster fees for 2 lower level tickets.
October 5th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
I just can’t get excited about the Nets playing at the Rock. Most likely, the Nets will be promoting their Brooklyn move, complete with brochures, Barclay’s arena models, and sales reps tryng to get people excited about Brooklyn. I think Newark and NJ Nets fan are getting used again by Ratner. The only good that may come out of this, and it’s a longshot, is Ratner’s Brooklyn deal fall apart and he sells the team to NJ investers, or we can get an expansion team in a few years. Or maybe Cory Booker can convince the new Russian owner that Newark is the best place to put the Nets.
October 11th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
I think it’s all but a lock that the Nets are going to Brooklyn now, what with their Russian billionaire stepping in to save (ruin?) the day. From Newark’s perspective, the best case scenario would obviously be for the Nets to come to the Rock. After that, it would have to be that the Nets move somewhere across the country; Seattle, Kansas City, anywhere but Brooklyn. Another arena in the area is not good for Prudential Center, especially if Izod is still kicking, and the Islanders end up building a local hockey rink, too.
October 16th, 2009 at 7:19 am
Thanks For keeping it on target
Best Regards
October 18th, 2009 at 10:35 am
The first game was a pretty good turnout. Let’s see how the Rock looks vs the Knicks. I met one of the arena security guards and he said that in talking with the Nets players, the overall consensus is they’d rather stay in NJ, just because this is where they live. A Brooklyn move is like everyone on the team getting traded and having to uproot their entire families and lives. Move to Newark, Nets!