by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
Jay-Z is the only NBA team owner whose musical talents people get excited for. Sorry, James Dolan.
So, it only makes sense that the New Jersey Nets’ minority owner would help usher in the Brooklyn Nets era with a series of concerts in his hometown. Jay-Z will reportedly unveil the team’s new name in a press conference today (expected to simply be “Brooklyn Nets”.)
From the NY Daily News:
Rap mogul Jay-Z will headline a series of concerts to open Brooklyn’s new Nets arena next fall – and will make it official Monday: The team will be named for his hometown. The superstar, who owns a small piece of the soon-to-be renamed Brooklyn Nets, will perform at eight concerts to celebrate the grand opening of the arena – where all-access passes are going for up to $15,400 a season.
Jay-Z likely will be joined by his wife, Beyoncé – who by then will have given birth to the couple’s first child – at one of the shows, and will bring on a series of other performers, sources said. Jay-Z will appear with developer Bruce Ratner and Borough President Marty Markowitz to reveal details of the shows Monday at the Prospect Heights construction site.
According to the NY Post, the Nets hope to use Jay-Z’s celebrity to attract the richest and most powerful people in the New York area to the Nets’ new home in Brooklyn.
It is, after all, supposed to be a “baller’s paradise”.
UPDATE: Video added.
