Jay-Z says Nets will bear Brooklyn name

Jay-Z. AP/Kathy Willens

NEW YORK—The NBA’s New Jersey Nets will change their name to the Brooklyn Nets when they move into a new arena next year, hip-hop singer and Nets part-owner Jay-Z said Monday.

Across the street from the site where the team plans to play next season, Jay-Z announced he would open the arena by performing there next September in at least two or three concerts.

He also said the team, owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, would change its name to reflect the borough of New York City where he grew up.

“I’m from Brooklyn,” Jay-Z said. “Opening this arena will mean more to me than anywhere else.”

The Nets hope to become an NBA title contender once they move across the Hudson River from their current home in Newark, New Jersey.

But at this stage, the Nets and every other team in the NBA are shut down in the middle of a lockout because the league and its players cannot agree on how to divide $3.8 billion in annual revenues.

The NBA has already called off 43 pre-season games and the November 1 start of the 2011-2012 season is in jeopardy. The only prior lockout in 1998 led to a season shortened to 50 games per club.