Industry Noize: Barclays On The Block?

Investment bank Evercore Partners is expected to start formally shopping Forest City Ratner’s stake next week, according to Sports Business Daily. The sale may provide an objective idea of the current valuation of Barclays Center, which is thought to have a top valuation of $750 million.

The 19,000-seat arena, home to the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, completed its first full calendar year of operations in 2013 as the No. 1 North American arena in ticket sales with just shy of 1 million tickets sold. It’s on track to possibly retain the top spot in 2014.

Barclays Center generated just shy of $30 million of operating income, which was less than its debt expenses, leading to a loss for the year, the Wall Street Journal reported. Forest City reports performance has improved in 2014, but at a pace “that is still well below initial projections” of more than $70 million in annual operating income, according to the paper.

The NHL’s New York Islanders are to join the Nets next as Barclays Center tenants. The arena is already handling the Islanders’ business operations.

Forest City’s move creates an opportunity for the Nets to take control of the building, which is a typical business model between pro sports teams and the buildings they play in. The Nets’ controlling owners, which include Russion billionaire Mickhail Prokhorov, currently hold the other 45 percent stake in the Barclays Center, according to Sports Business Daily.

It has been rumored that Guggenheim Partners was looking for a piece of the Nets, with reports valuing Barclays Center at $1.1 billion and the team at $1.7 billion, according to Sports Business Daily. The paper, however, reported that Guggenheim has since denied making any such proposal.

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