Nets Open Brooklyn Basketball Training Center to Grow Young Fan Base as Rebuild Begins

The Brooklyn Nets opened the Brooklyn Basketball Training Center this week across from Barclays Center, a 18,600-square-foot facility aimed at developing a new generation of Nets supporters and solidifying community ties as the team embraces a season focused on drafting and player development. Located on Flatbush Avenue on the former Modell’s site, the center is designed to serve kids ages 6 to 17 and sit at the heart of a broader youth-program network that includes free clinics at local schools and paid training at the center itself. It is a concrete step in the Nets’ strategy to grow a fan base that can grow up with the organization, even as the team targets a high draft pick outcome this season.

Through the Brooklyn Basketball Training Center, the Nets intend a long-game approach to fandom. BSE Global, the parent company of the Nets, Liberty, and Barclays Center, says the facility is central to cultivating a generational connection between the team and Brooklyn families. “It’s huge,” BSE Global CEO Sam Zussman told The Post. “Then you’re a fan. Yeah, I mean, think about what made you a fan. Sometimes it’s the parents coming home, bringing a ball to someone, and all of a sudden they’re a fan of that team. It’s the smallest things. And this is super, super organic. It also pulls the parents in.”

The center’s creation aligns with the Nets’ current season narrative: a rebuilding year with the lottery as a likely destination and a focus on the development of a young core rather than immediate, sustained excellence. The facility will anchor the Nets’ outreach, which already includes a partnership with the Department of Education that produced clinics for 40,000 Brooklyn children last year. The new center will be an 18,600-square-foot hub of activity that complements the broader youth program, which encompasses free training opportunities at schools and paid instruction at the center itself. In addition to the indoor space, the site is conceived as a living pipeline for future Nets fans who might otherwise never have the chance to engage with professional basketball.

The program’s philosophy centers on organic, family-inclusive engagement rather than a single-season headline. Brooklyn Deputy Borough President Kim Council, speaking at the ribbon cutting, underscored the importance of access and visibility for local children. “One of the greatest barriers to success is access,” Council said. “Our children need to see and they need to be able to visualize themselves in certain spaces. So I’m incredibly thankful to Joe and Clara Tsai for their investment, not just in this facility but in Brooklyn and the larger community.” The Tsais, Nets owner and co-owner respectively, attended the ceremony alongside other leaders, including minority owner David Koch Jr., signaling the ownership group’s commitment to a long-running community-first strategy.

Zussman emphasized that the center is more than a basketball facility; it is a gateway for families to participate in Nets culture and for young players to imagine a path to professional basketball. He noted that a kid who walks in with a ball might grow up become a Nets supporter as the team evolves around them. “Your kid comes, says, ‘I want to watch a Nets game.’ Good luck telling him or her anything else, right?” Zussman said earlier, adding that the organization views this initiative as a way to engage an entire family. The Nets’ approach is designed to be as much about local roots as it is about player development, with the center intended to grow as the Nets’ roster turns over and the young players who come through the program mature alongside fans who grew up with them.

The timing of the center’s opening dovetails with a notable offseason for Brooklyn. The Nets entered this season with a different identity after collecting an NBA-record five first-round picks in June as part of a broader rebuilding effort. Last season’s 26-56 record left little room for argument that the team needed a fresh start, and the franchise has banked on a wave of young players who will be playing in Brooklyn for several seasons as they transition into the core of the franchise. The new training center is pitched as a way to accelerate that transition, giving youngsters a clear, local routine that parallels the team’s on-court development.

Club executives highlighted the long horizon for the project. Even if the Brooklyn Basketball Training Center eventually moves to a larger site in the coming years, the plan is for it to remain a launching pad for a growing fan base that mirrors the Nets’ rebuilding arc. “We started this dream years ago. We had Kyrie (Irving) and Kevin Durant,” Zussman told The Post, reflecting on the franchise’s past while focusing on the present and future. “What I’d say is, you’re right in the fact that the team now is probably more relatable to someone young, right? Because they see ‘Oh my God, they have 18-, 19-year-old players and they’ll grow up here.’”

At the team level, the early days of training camp have already built a narrative around development. After two days of contact in the first phase of camp, Friday was designated as a non-contact recovery day, underscoring the Nets’ emphasis on gradual, structured player growth in a season that seat-for-seat will test the capabilities of a notably young roster. The combination of a robust youth program and a drafting strategy designed to bring in multiple teenagers into the Nets’ framework reflects a franchise intent on building a lasting relationship with Brooklyn’s basketball community, not just a quick run at the postseason.

Brooklyn’s plan to cultivate a new generation of fans through accessible facilities, school partnerships, and community engagement has long been a talking point among Nets officials. The opening of the Brooklyn Basketball Training Center marks a tangible milestone in a strategy that ties on-court performance to off-court growth, turning what could be perceived as a season of losing into an opportunity for grassroots buy-in. As the Nets’ young roster grows together, the training center is positioned to be a constant—an anchor for families and a gateway for young athletes who might eventually rise through the Nets’ ranks or support the team as lifelong fans.

The project signals a broader trend across professional sports teams seeking to root franchises in their communities by creating dedicated youth outlets that serve as pipelines for talent, fans, and future revenue. In Brooklyn, where the Nets’ move from New Jersey took root over a decade ago, the training center represents not just a facility but a statement: the team intends to be a long-term, community-centered presence. If the team sustains its rebuild and continues to add promising young players, the center could play a pivotal role in shaping the next generation of Nets followers, even as current rosters turn over and the team pursues the best possible outcomes on the court.