Barclays Center’s NBA Debut Postponed after Hurricane Sandy Devastation

Thursday night’s NBA opener of the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn between the Nets and New York Knicks will be postponed because of Hurricane Sandy’s devastation of the mass transit system.

The announcement will come a day after the N.B.A. said the game would be played. General Manager Glen Grunwald of the Knicks and his Nets counterpart, Billy King, confirmed the postponement.

The game was to be the first regular-season contest at the newly opened arena, which was built above a subway and Long Island Rail Road transportation hub. But fans were going to find it nearly impossible to reach the arena because all subway and rail service was knocked out because of flooding. Some of it has since been restored.

Barclays is the new home of the Nets and a $1 billion facility that is bringing pro sports back to Brooklyn.