Brooklyn Nets stadium NYC
If you love basketball and want to experience a magical night, you have a date at the Barclays Center to see the Brooklyn Nets play. Here's how to get tickets to watch the NBA in New York.
Image of the exterior of the Barclays Center | ©Hellotickets
The Barclays Center is a modern arena located in the borough of Brooklyn, known for being the home of the Brooklyn Nets. Are you ready to experience the magic of the NBA?
How to visit the Barclays Center?
Unlike Madison Square Garden, the home of the New York Knicks, there is no tour to visit the Brooklyn Nets arena, so the best way to get to know it is to attend an NBA or NHL game, as it is also the home of the New York Islanders until their new arena is finished.
Buy Brooklyn Nets tickets
If you want to experience the excitement and enthusiasm that the sport brings to the East Coast during your trip to New York, my advice is to book your Brooklyn Nets tickets as soon as possible.
The demand to go to an NBA game is extremely high and tickets sell out months in advance. In my article on how to watch NBA games in New YorkI explain in detail how the basketball season works, the stages it is divided into and how to buy NBA tickets.
How to buy basketball tickets at the Barclays Center?
You have two options to buy your Brooklyn Nets tickets:
Buy them online in advance
If basketball is your passion and you have included an NBA game in your trip to New York, I recommend you to buy basketball tickets online before your trip. There are several reasons for this, here's why:
- To get the best seat at the Barclays Center at the cheapest price , the key is to buy your tickets as soon as possible. The demand to go to an NBA game is extremely high, so tickets are usually sold out as soon as they go on sale.
- The American ticket market is dynamic, which means that prices increase as the date of the game approaches and supply decreases (as with flights, for example). If you wait too long to book your tickets, you run the risk of running out of basketball tickets or having few tickets at a high price and in less visible areas.
- Another advantage of buying basketball tickets online is that you can choose your favourite seat at the Barclays Center to watch the Brooklyn Nets.
In my opinion, this is the easiest, safest and quickest option. Besides, bringing your tickets from home gives you a lot of peace of mind.
At the stadium box office
In my experience, I don't think this is the best option. Here are the reasons why:
- For starters, buying basketball tickets for the Brooklyn Nets once you arrive in New York means that you will have to travel to the Barclays Center, adapt to the opening hours of the ticket window and wait in an endless queue to buy them.
- This means you'll waste a lot of your travel time queuing at the stadium gates when you could be spending it visiting the Statue of Liberty or seeing a Broadway musical, among many other things.
- In addition, there will be fewer options left and they may even be priced in gold or sold out due to the high demand for NBA tickets.
Beware of resale
If I have to give you one last piece of advice when buying your basketball tickets, it is to be very cautious with the scalpers around the stadium. It is likely that you will end up paying a very high price for tickets with poor visibility or, in the worst case scenario, they will be fake and you will not be able to get to the game.
How do you choose a good seat for a game at the Barclays Center?
When it comes to choosing basketball tickets at the Barclays Center, an important factor is the budget you have available as the price of the seats usually depends directly on how close you are to the court.
The cheapest tickets are for the farthest and highest seats as well as those in the corners and next to the wall, while the closer you get to the court, the higher the price goes up.
At the Barclays Center, the best seats are on the sidelines, where you can watch the game and see the players almost like one of the team, although these are the most expensive seats. Behind the baskets is also where there are usually quite interesting prices, if you want to watch the NBA stars up close without spending VIP amounts.
You can see the view from every seat
Anyway, when you buy basketball tickets online to see the Brooklyn Nets, you will be shown an image with the exact views from each seat so you can have a better idea when choosing and know what to expect from each seat.
How do I receive the NBA tickets I bought online and will they arrive in time?
Your tickets will be sent to you electronically and you will receive them in your email so you can access them whenever you need them. You just have to know that in the United States, for security reasons, tickets are usually issued a few days before the game, so it may take a while to receive them, but don't worry, this is normal and they will always arrive on time.
Do I need to print them?
My advice is to read the instructions you receive in your email carefully because you don't usually need to print them out. However, in the event that your tickets are in PDF format and you need to print them but you are already away from home, the solution is simple. If you need to, your hotel will help you print them or you can search on Google Maps for a Staples (a stationery shop) or Copy Center to print them near your accommodation or the stadium.
And if I don't have internet, how do I access the tickets?
If you don't have a stable connection or data on your phone during your trip to New York, don't panic. You can always download them at your hotel or at any public establishment with WiFi for guests (such as a coffee shop or restaurant) so that you will have them ready to go when you arrive at the stadium.
When to go to the arena on game days?
Brooklyn Nets game days at the Barclays Center are a special time in the city. You can feel it in the atmosphere and there is more excitement and hustle and bustle than usual on the streets of New York.
On game day I recommend that you go to the stadium at least an hour in advance to arrive calmly, go through the security arch, find your seats and enjoy the pre-game show, listen to the American anthem, watch the cheerleader show and jump the players onto the court. The crowd welcomes them as if they were heroes!
How to get to the Barclays Center?
If you've bought basketball tickets to see the Brooklyn Nets play at home, my advice is to take advantage of the day to take a tour of Brooklyn, which with its industrial past and strong cultural identity is well worth a visit.
You can get there on foot by crossing the magnificent Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan and walk around before the game starts. In my article 10 things to do and see in Brooklyn I give you some ideas for sightseeing and having a great time.
In case you have another activity scheduled for that day and want to go directly to the Barclays Center to watch the game you can take public transportation but it's important to be aware of traffic or rush hour so you don't arrive late to the Barclays Center.
-
Where: 620 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn.
-
How to get there: The closest subways are Fulton Street (G), Lafayette Avenue (C) and Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center (2, 3, 4, 5, B, D, N, Q, R).
Where to eat before or after the game?
Inside the Barclays Center there are several food and drink stands where you can get a snack while you watch the game, but the prices are much more expensive than outside. For example, a hot dog can cost around $7, a soft drink around $6.5 and a bottle of water around $5.
Since you are not allowed to bring your own drinks or food into the arena, I recommend going to one of the restaurants around the Barclays Center to eat if you work up an appetite such as Shake Sack, McDonald's or Patsy's Pizzeria, either before or after the game to celebrate the Nets' victory.
Useful information for watching the NBA
How long is an NBA game?
Officially it lasts 48 minutes (4 quarters of 12 minutes each) but between the breaks and halftime, most games are usually 2 hours or more. After the first two quarters there is a 15 minute half time where you can buy something to eat or go to the toilets.
Is it allowed to bring cameras or backpacks into the stadium?
According to the Barclays Center access policy, backpacks or bags larger than 14 "x14 "x6" or with hard sides will not be allowed into the stadium. Professional camera equipment, audio and/or video recording devices, selfie sticks and tripods will also not be allowed.
Do children pay admission to the NBA?
The NBA is a very family-friendly spectacle, but to the question of whether children pay admission, the reality is that it depends on the team.
The Barclays Center's policy on children's access to the arena states that for all sporting events, children up to 34" inches tall (86.36 centimeters) may enter for free but must share a seat with a ticketed adult. Any child who does not meet this height requirement will need their own ticket to enter the stadium.
If you are going to the stadium with children under the age of two, bring proof of age if requested at the entrance. Valid forms of identification are a passport or birth certificate.
Why go to the Barclays Center?
You go to New York to have a great time and even if you're not much of a sports fan, seeing an NBA game in person is one of the most exciting things to do in the USA and a unique opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the best players in the world - a true spectacle of music, dance and above all basketball!
If you want to go to an NBA game during your trip to New York, you can't miss the Brooklyn Nets here. The season starts at the end of October and ends in mid-April.
What is the Barclays Center like?
When the Nets decided to move from New Jersey to New York they chose the borough of Brooklyn for their new home and built the new arena on Atlantic Avenue, right next to a transportation hub.
The Barclays Center is a huge arena in the heart of this borough just around the corner from the BAM. With a capacity of over 17,000 , it is famous for being the home of the Brooklyn Nets (NBA) and the New York Islanders (NHL) since 2012.
The arena has also hosted boxing championships and music events (in fact, some of the world's top artists such as Jay-Z, Ariana Grande, Marc Anthony and Celine Dion have performed here).
What other sporting events are there in New York?
If you are a sports fan and you want to attend another event during your holidays in New York I recommend other options such as:
The NBA
In New York you can also watch the New York Knicks play at Madison Square Garden.
The NHL
You can watch the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders play in the Big Apple. The ice hockey season runs from October to April.
The MLB
Watch the New York Yankees and New York Mets play in New York. Baseball season runs from April to early November with the World Series and in this post I'll explain in detail how to buy tickets to see MLB games in New York.
The NFL
In New York you can watch the New York Giants and the New York Jets. The season runs from early September to early February with the Super Bowl. If you like American football, this article tells you how to see a football game in New York.