article: Known as the New Jersey Nets for 35 years, the team will start the new season in the famous New York borough, and in a new stadium, the Barclays Center. Jay-Z, who owns shares in the club, has been a prime mover behind the NBA team's reincarnation, advising club executives, as well as designing club logos and apparel. He also stars in a series of eight sold-out concerts, starting on Friday, 28 September, to open the multi-purpose venue, which will be used for everything from sporting events, to concerts, to family shows. The music star, real name Shawn Corey Carter, was brought into the Nets fold in the mid-2000s by then-owner, and current minority stakeholder, property developer Bruce Ratner. It was Mr Ratner who also came up with the idea of moving the team to sports-mad Brooklyn, without a major professional sports team since the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team moved to Los Angeles in 1957. Ownership 'vision' "When Bruce Ratner first bought the team he brought Jay-Z into the ownership structure - that showed foresight," says Brett Yormark, Brooklyn Nets chief executive. "Jay-Z is from Brooklyn, he is of Brooklyn. So he recognised the vision when Bruce first announced his intention to come to Brooklyn." Mr Yormark says: "Jay-Z's role with the team has evolved." And the rapper worked closely with club executives on the two new club logos - one with a shield and one with a large B - and colours. "He is a confidant that I can reach out to - he has a tremendous understanding of current consumer trends," the Mr Yormark, 45, adds. The move completes a near eight-year battle for Mr Yormark to get the team into its new $1bn (Â£0.6bn) home, having to overcome the global financial crisis on the way. "We are very excited - I honestly think the Barclays Center, and the move of the Nets, has exceeded people's expectations," he says. "It has taken time to get to Brooklyn, but on 30 April we turned the page." That was when the red, white and blue of the New Jersey Nets was exchanged for the black and white Brooklyn look. The Brooklyn borough is roughly 10 miles (16km) across the Hudson from Newark, New Jersey, last home of the Nets. "It has been an incredible time since April - the public has really connected with the 'Brooklyn-isation' of our offer," Mr Yormark says. If its population was counted separately from that of New York, then Brooklyn would be the fourth biggest city in the US, offering a large potential fan-base. Mr Yormark says that sales of merchandise are going very well, and doing better than some long-established teams. Demand has exceeded expectation, and Mr Yormark was also pleased to see club merchandise on sale in London during a recent visit, given that the Nets are looking to create a global fan-base. Like all NBA teams, China is a major potential market, but for the Nets there is another specific nation they are targeting, the homeland of club majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov. "We have
summary: Few, if any, leading sports clubs can say that a top rap star has played a role in their rebirth, but that is the case with the newly founded Brooklyn Nets basketball team.