An arena begins to grow in Brooklyn

Each of the new or renovated sports facilities that have sprouted across the region since 2007 has had a long, twisted pre-construction tale to tell.

That's not even including the one that has yet to be resolved. Take Nassau Coliseum, please.

But it would be difficult to top the saga of the Nets, who en route from East Rutherford to Brooklyn (via Newark) encountered legal and financial hurdles, a redesign, an ownership change and -- not surprisingly -- relentless skepticism.

Just two weeks ago, Newark Mayor Cory Booker said he will "fight until the last lightbulb is screwed in two rivers over" to keep the team in New Jersey.

Hence Brett Yormark's mix of pride and relief as the Nets' CEO stood on a muddy incline at the corner of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues yesterday and looked at the partial frame of Barclays Center.

"For so many years, we were selling hope and vision," he said. "Now we can sell something that's been substantiated with steel coming out of the ground."

It isn't much to look at yet. Linda Chiarelli, deputy director of construction, said about 70 percent of the excavation is done and 30 percent of the steel is in place. The outlines of the roof are taking shape.

The Nets say they are on schedule to open the $1-billion, 18,000-seat arena for the 2012-13 NBA season.

The first official event is to be a concert Sept. 28, 2012. Yormark would not say who the featured artist will be. Logical guess: part-owner Jay-Z.

The Nets already are taking season-ticket orders for premium seats from their current subscribers; the available seats range in price from $99 to $1,500 per game and include unlimited food and other amenities.

Among the biggest selling points of the project is its proximity to multiple subway lines and the Long Island Rail Road.

Yormark estimated conservatively that 50 percent of people will arrive by rail, presumably including a huge spike in Long Islanders compared with the trickle that treks to New Jersey.

For those willing to brave the traffic on the clogged streets of downtown Brooklyn, there will be 3,000 parking spots within a half-mile and 1,100 on site.

Even as the arena goes up, the rest of the controversial Atlantic Yards project remains in limbo. None of the housing units planned for the area has risen yet, and it is not clear when that will occur.

"Obviously, Bruce Ratner and his team are working very hard to bring affordable housing and market-rate rentals to the marketplace,'' Yormark said, referring to the developer who sold a majority of the Nets to Mikhail Prokhorov last year. "We're very confident that will happen in a very quick period of time."

The arena is the only apparent inevitability. But no matter how well appointed it is, it will need a team it can be proud of. Yormark hopes the turnaround began with the trade for guard Deron Williams.

"We needed a face for the Nets, and I think we have it," he said. "I think Deron is going to attract other great players."

That remains to be seen. Williams himself is signed only through next season. But those are future concerns. For now, what matters is that an arena finally is growing in Brooklyn.

"I think it'll be a great setup," forward Kris Humphries said as he stood in the middle of what someday will be the tipoff circle at center court. "This is cool."