Jay-Z’s Coliseum: The Barclays Center, Professional Sports and the Transformation of Brooklyn
Abstract
This thesis examines the manner in which major league sporting venues and teams fit into the decline and redevelopment of Brooklyn New York. Brooklyn’s only major league athletic franchise, the Dodgers of baseball’s National League, moved to California after the 1957 season due to a degraded stadium in a period of rapid decline in the borough, negatively affecting residents. After decades of efforts to gentrify Brooklyn neighborhoods, a project fitting the description of second round “super-‐gentrification” will bring the NBA’s Nets to the new Barclays Center. Supporters of the project are attempting to paint this development as a recreation of the experience of hosting the Dodgers from 1890-‐1957. Whether this proves accurate remains to be seen.
