Arent Fox Serves as Counsel to Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment on Naming Rights Deal with New York Community Bank

After undergoing an extensive renovation, Long Island, New York’s renowned multi-purpose arena will reopen in April 2017 as “The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, presented by New York Community Bank.” BSE oversees programming, marketing, sales, and operations for Barclays Center and The New Coliseum, and manages and controls the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and its Development League team, the Long Island Nets, as well as the business operations of the NHL’s New York Islanders.
 
Arent Fox Sports leader Richard L. Brand worked with BSE’s Jeffrey B. Gewirtz, Executive Vice President of Business Affairs and Chief Legal Officer, and Kari Cohen, Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, on the transaction.
 
Arent Fox has a longstanding relationship as counsel to the Brooklyn Nets stretching back to 2007, when the firm advised Brooklyn Arena, LLC and the then-New Jersey Nets in connection with the Barclays Center naming rights transaction, the largest deal of its kind in the history of sports and entertainment at the time. Arent Fox regularly counsels the Nets and BSE in a wide variety of transactions, including the team’s recent media rights agreement with the YES Network for the exhibition of the team’s games and ancillary programming as well as representing the Nets in various aspects of the team’s new multi-million-dollar practice facility, the HSS Training Center.
 
This latest naming rights transaction continues a recent string of naming rights transactions for Arent Fox and Rich Brand. In just the past few months, Rich has advised clients on deals including the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers, counseling the team on a naming rights and health provider rights deal with UCLA Health; the NFL’s Miami Dolphins in an 18-year stadium naming rights agreement with Hard Rock International; and Inova Health System in a multi-year naming rights and sponsorship transaction with the NFL’s Washington Redskins in connection with their training facility and headquarters.
 
Mr. Brand is recognized as a leading sports attorney by Chambers USA, Legal 500 and US News & World Report. His practice includes naming rights, media rights, acquisitions of professional sports franchises, sponsorships, arena/stadium licenses, executive contracts, concession agreements, suite and club seat licenses, and financings for teams and facilities. He also represents numerous professional teams in all facets of their operations.
 
From coast to coast, Arent Fox boasts one of the most experienced and diverse sports law practices in the country, with clients spanning individuals and team sports in major league, minor league and amateur sports. The group regularly advises companies and organizations in football, baseball, basketball, tennis, cycling, hockey, soccer, wrestling, collegiate and high school sports and within the Olympic Movement on a wide array of issues, including those involving acquisitions and sales of teams, property and event companies, financings, media and technology agreements, intellectual property matters, and naming rights and other sponsorship transactions.