New York Liberty could make Brooklyn their permanent home

The New York Liberty have had a rough finish to the 2019 season but, their new fan support in Brooklyn could make Barclays Center their future home.

The 2019 WNBA season is quickly coming to a close, and the New York Liberty recently played their first non-exhibition game in Brooklyn, New York. The team did wind up on the losing end to the defending champion Seattle Storm on August 14th but won tremendously in overall fan attendance.

The Liberty drew 7,715 fans at Barclays Center home to the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and NHL’s New York Islanders. The impressive showing in the seats once again sparked conversations of the team possibly making Brooklyn a permanent home instead of the much smaller Westchester County Center. The arena in Westchester is under Madison Square Garden company control also holds the New York Knicks G-League franchise.

Team owner Joe Tsai has been very vocal since purchasing the team earlier in the year about moving the team to Brooklyn an is a supporter of women’s basketball. Tsai spoke with reporters recently about the difference in capacity between the two arenas and giving the Liberty better exposure to New York City.

"“We need to find a solution when it comes to playing venue, a place where the fans can get excited about,” Tsai had told The Post. “Right now the Westchester venue has a limit of something like 3,000 seats. It’s tiny, it’s hard to get to. If you live in New York City, it’s kind of difficult to get to White Plains. That’s the first order of business. As an owner I see that as my most important responsibility, how to bring more fans into the arena to watch the team.”"

Both coaches spoke to Empire Writes Back about playing in Brooklyn and the different atmosphere it creates after the historic game. “It was great. said Liberty head coach Katie Smith, The fans, the atmosphere, and the energy. It brought a fun vibe for the game of basketball. We had a blast today.”

"“It was a great atmosphere for our players, their players, the league, said Storm head coach Dan Hughes, it was definitely an away environment for us and that’s what it should be, and that’s where this game is really beautiful when we have those types of contests. I walked off the court thinking, now that’s one of the moments I’m going to remember in my career because here we are in Brooklyn with that kind of crowd in this great arena, that was remarkable to me.”"

Tsai’s plan could happen sooner than later as he is reportedly close to gaining full ownership of the Nets as opposed to his first 49 percent. The Liberty could become the next summer marquee attraction in Brooklyn as the Barclays Center’s tenants list continues to expand.