Bars Near Barclays Center Booming, Others, Not So Much

Over the weekend the Daily News took a look at how businesses around the Barclays center are faring since the arena opened this fall. They found that bars, some more than a mile from the arena are seeing a significant boost in income from fans stopping by before the game. The co-manager of Brooklyn Tap House on Myrtle and Classon in Clinton Hill, two miles away, told the News, “we get the pre-game crowd. We aren’t even in walking distance.” Some restaurants are also seeing increased business, but only for concerts. But many more businesses are feeling left out in the cold, like the owner of Cake Ambiance on Dean Street: “People don’t know about the area. They don’t walk around, and the train is right there. There are bakeries in there. Junior’s is in there. Starbucks is in there. There is this thing about [Barclays] helping the locals – that’s dream land.” Villanova University sports sociologist Rick Eckstein who co-wrote Public Dollars, Private Stadiums, says that these early spending trends are likely to influence the future of the neighborhoods around the arena: “You have to play to the crowd. When you have thousands of people coming in, you give them something to drink, not a hardware store. My guess is the corner stores and mom-and-pop shops won’t be around in a few years.” Have you noticed any changes in the kinds of businesses prospering around the arena?

Big Bucks off Barclays? Bars Happy, Clothing Shops Frustrated [NY Daily News]
NY Mag: Is Barclays Center a Success? [Brownstoner]
NYT Reviews Barclays Center and Its Context [Brownstoner]