Brooklyn Events Center, the arena operating company operated by the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets that runs the Barclays Center, lost $76 millon during the fiscal year ending June 2023, according to an audited report by PricewaterhouseCoopers released September 29. On an operating basis, that is before non-cash expenses like depreciation and amortization, the Barclays Center had a profit of $16 million.

The prior year the arena lost $78 million and posted an operating profit of $14 million.

Home playoff games can mean several million dollars in revenue and in both 2022 and 2023 the Nets were swept in four games the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Last year the Philadelphia 76ers had the honors and the Boston Celtics did them in the prior year.

The arena company is required to file financial statements because of the PILOT bonds used to finance its construction. The Barclays Center is owned by New York State. Joe Tsai purchased the Nets and the operating rights to the arena for $3.2 billion in 2019 from Mikhail Prokhorov, a then-record price for an NBA team.

The Barclays Center is the home of two professional basketball teams, the Nets and the New York Liberty of the WNBA, as well as a professional eSports team, the Nets Gaming Crew, all of which are owned by Tsai. The arena also hosts live entertainment events, such as concerts, family shows, and other entertainment events.

For the year ended June 30, 2023, the total PILOT payments made by the Nets $26.9 million because the team was reimbursed $11.6 million for certain operating and maintenance expenses.

2023 operating expenses for the Barclays Center.

Losing money has eaten away at the arena’s equity. Members’ equity in the Barclays Center was $138 million in June 2023 compared with $196 million a year earlier. In June 2021 members’ equity was $236 million.

2023 assets and liabilities for the Barclays Center.

But don’t weep for Tsai. As of February 2023, New York’s Department of Finance assessed fair market value for the Barclays Center at $2.6 billion and a year ago we valued the Nets along with the economics of the arena at $3.5 billion, seventh most in the NBA.