Its use of eminent domain and its potential environmental impact[13] brought massive community resistance, especially as residential buildings and businesses such as the Ward Bakery and Freddy's bar[14] were to be demolished and large amounts of public subsidies were used, which led to multiple lawsuits.

However, controversies involving local residents, the use of eminent domain, potential environmental impact, lack of continued public financing, as well as a major economic downturn delayed the project.

[19] Frank Gehry, an architect involved in the project's initial designs said, in March 2009, "I don't think it is going to happen,"[13] and Ratner at one point explored selling the team.

[21] Russian businessman Mikhail Prokhorov agreed to a $200 million deal on September 23, 2009, to become a principal owner of the Nets and a key investor in the Brooklyn arena.

"[25] Another potential roadblock to this development resulted from the Appellate Court's negative decision regarding a similar eminent domain case, brought against Columbia University.

[29] The New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL) announced on October 24, 2012, that the franchise would move to Barclays Center in 2015 after the expiration of their lease at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which the team had called home since its inception in 1972.

[30] While Barclays Center was conceived as a multipurpose arena that could accommodate the Nets and an NHL team, it was built mainly for basketball.

[31] As a result of the signing of the lease, the two KHL games scheduled to be played in the arena on January 20 and 21, 2013 between Dynamo Moscow and SKA St. Petersburg were moved back to their teams' home venues.

According to Billboard magazine, Barclays Center passed Madison Square Garden as the highest-grossing venue in the US for concerts and family shows, not counting sports events.

The team began to seek an exit from Barclays, although NHL officials judged that the Coliseum (even with its recent renovations) would not be suitable as a full-time venue, as it lacked amenities common in new facilities.

[35][36][37] On June 21, 2018, the Islanders announced that they would begin to play a portion of their home schedule at Nassau Coliseum until the completion of UBS Arena.

[43] Sources later told Billboard that BSE Global ended the deal with SeatGeek after encountering multiple technical issues, which led to lower than expected ticket sales for concerts at the arena.

[5] Forest City Ratner unveiled a scaled-back version of the project in February 2008 reducing Miss Brooklyn's size 40%, and making it 109 feet (33 m) shorter.

[13] Another redesign unveiled just over two months later scrapped Miss Brooklyn entirely, and in January 2009, the developer started "value engineering" the arena design, cutting its budget even more.

Unlike most other urban venues in the US, Barclays Center has no dedicated parking lot; however, it is easily accessible by subway, bus, and railroad.

The transit structure connects with the refurbished Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center subway station, whose renovation was designed by New York City firm Stantec.

They consist of two side-by-side 80,000 pounds (36,000 kg) capacity elevators which lower vehicles 35 feet (11 m) below street grade into a loading dock area.

It was reported that the banking and financial services company agreed to pay the team $400 million over the next 20 years for the naming rights of their Brooklyn home,[56] eclipsing the previous record for naming rights to an American indoor arena, set by Royal Philips Electronics in 1999, for $185 million over 20 years for Philips Arena in Atlanta.

The originally scheduled season opener home game was supposed to take place on November 1 against now-cross town rivals the New York Knicks, in what was planned to be a historic event; however, the game was canceled by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg due to mass transportation outages and a shortage of available police caused by Hurricane Sandy.

Due to the upcoming 2024 NBA draft, the Liberty's Commissioner's Cup championship game against the Lynx was moved from Barclays Center to UBS Arena.

Notable moments at the Brooklyn site include a tip-in at the buzzer by Adam Woodbury to lift the Iowa Hawkeyes past Temple in overtime,[69] 14th-seeded Stephen F. Austin's upset win over 3rd-seeded West Virginia,[70] and Rex Plfueger's last-second tip-in to help Notre Dame avert an upset bid by Stephen F. Austin in the second round.

The first goal in Islanders Brooklyn history was scored in the first period on a power play (and a delayed penalty call) by defenseman Ryan Pulock.

This was the sixth NHL game at Barclays Center, following five total preseason contests (three in 2015), and one Islanders rookie scrimmage.

While the Nassau Coliseum was closed indefinitely in June 2020, and the Islanders were reported to return to Barclays Center for the 2020–21 season if the Coliseum remained unavailable,[73] a new leaseholder allowed the Islanders to play their 2020–21 home games there, meaning the final game at Barclays Center was March 3, 2020, a 6–2 loss against the Montreal Canadiens.

This weekend included NXT TakeOver: New York, the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony, along with post-WrestleMania editions of Raw and SmackDown Live.

There are also two "neutral site" events during the season, which culminates at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, in October to determine the PBR Team Series Champion.

[91] During its construction, the center was the source of a number of controversies involving local residents, the use of eminent domain, potential environmental impact, lack of continued public financing, as well as a major economic downturn that delayed the project.

Three employees of Ludwig's Pharmacy in Prospect Heights claimed in a lawsuit filed in October 2013 that they were singled out for bad treatment at the arena because they are black.

https://casetext.com/case/ludwigs-drug-store-inc-v-forest-city-enters-inc A group of 120 part-time construction workers who work to convert the arena from a concert hall to a sports venue unsuccessfully tried to switch unions in February 2013.

[95] In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark acknowledged the issue, but insisted nothing can be done: "There's really nothing we're going to do from a capital improvement standpoint.