Jay-Z & Partners Picture New Jersey Nets In Brooklyn In 2011

[Denz]

Jay-Z's New Jersey Nets are hoping to call the rapper?s hometown of Brooklyn, New York their new home by 2011. Jay-Z joined forces with real estate developer Bruce Ratner and several other partners to purchase the Nets franchise in 2004 for $300 million. The Brooklyn rapper and his partners hoped to be in Brooklyn by 2009 but were met with various setbacks including the ongoing economic crisis and a domain lawsuit. Brett Yormark, the Nets chief executive officer, recently told Bloomberg Television that they see themselves overcoming economic concerns and legal opposition and will be moving into their planned $1 billion arena for the 2011-2012 season. "It will happen,? Yormark said. ?We?ll be there for the 2011-2012 season. We?ve pre-sold 20 per cent of our suites. We?ve got eight of our 14 founding partnerships already completely signed. Next week, we?ll announce our ninth.? ?We feel very confident about the financing. We feel very confident about just the project in general, and once we get through this final piece of litigation, we?ll be in the accelerated mode to break ground and get ready to open,? he added. The Nets move to Brooklyn would make them the first major professional sports team to play their games in Brooklyn since the departure of the Dodgers to Los Angeles in 1958.

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