NJ Arena No Longer A Gehry

The owner of the New Jersey Nets has replaced the architect of a pricey planned arena in Brooklyn.

The arena is a centerpiece of the $4 billion Atlantic Yards development of office towers and apartments. The project has been delayed by the economic downturn, years of opposition lawsuits and the near $1 billion price of the Frank Gehry-designed arena.

Developer Bruce Ratner said Thursday that Gehry’s design has been scrapped for a cheaper design of the arena, named the Barclays Center. Ratner says “the economic climate is not right” for Gehry’s design.

Ratner says new images released by a Kansas City, Mo., architect should be revealed for the arena this month. He still hopes to break ground on it this year.