Hurricane Sandy affecting early-season NBA action
With East Coasters from Cape May to Cape Cod struggling to get back to life as normal after Hurricane Sandy, the NBA is looking at contingency plans for early season games that could be affected by the storm’s impact. The most likely game to be rescheduled, it appears, is the Brooklyn Nets’ home opener against their new crosstown rivals the Knicks.
The Nets underwent an offseason facelift that involved a name, location and venue change—along with some splashy free agent signings and the inclusion of Brooklyn’s own Jay-Z in the ownership group.
Now it appears that the billion-dollar Barclay’s Center’s cardinal contest may not go off as planned. One major design point touted by Barclay’s and the Nets’ organization is the ease of access to the new arena by public transit. There’s just one problem: New York’s public transit is in a state of paralysis due to flooding and public safety concerns brought on by the hurricane.
The arena simply doesn’t have enough parking for every fan to arrive by car.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority’s website said, “The duration of the service suspension is still unknown, and there is no timetable for restoration. Service will be restored only when it is safe to do so, and after careful inspections of all equipment, tracks and other sub-systems and bus routes. Even with minimal damage this is expected to be a lengthy process.”
For now, it certainly sounds as though Brooklynites will have to wait a little longer to see basketball in their beloved borough.
