The ceremonial groundbreaking for the Barclays Center at Atlantic Yards took place on Mar. 11. The glass and steel arena designed by Ellerbe Becket and SHoP Architects will host more than 200 events annually, including professional and collegiate sports, concerts and family shows, and will be the new home of NBA team The Nets. The arena will seat 18,000 for basketball games and 19,000 for concerts. It will have 104 luxury suites, including 15 Brownstone Suites (16 seats each), 68 Loft Suites (10 seats each), 11 Backstage Suites, six Studio Suites and four Party Suites. It will also have 40 loge boxes, six clubs and restaurants and an on-site practice facility. We are providing full design services, including connection design, detailing and delivering a complete Tekla model, as well as providing construction services support for the project’s steel erector. The project team integrates Thornton Tomasetti staff from New York and Kansas City. The arena is expected to open in 2012.