Jay-Z Cuts The Ribbon At Barclays Centre Opening

Rapper Jay Z kicked into life the latest concert venue in Brooklyn, New York; the massive, rust-coloured Barclays Centre, taking to the stage for the venue's inaugural night.

Jay, himself a Brooklyn native, wore his heritage on his sleeve during the performance, proudly telling the crowd before his set started, "tonight is a celebration of the borough where I'm from. Welcome to my house."

The concert venue already has such stars as Bob Dylan and Barbara Streisand lined up to perform in the coming month, however not everyone is happy to see the new venue open up it's doors. The powers behind the new venue have hailed the venue as a chance to regenerate the dilapidated part of downtown Brooklyn, as well as offering a home for NBA team the Brooklyn Nets, the first sports team to represent the New York borough since 1957. However critics of the venue, who have been in protest of the venue since before construction began, believe that the new stadium will destroy the distinctive local community.

However, the effort went through and now the centrepiece of the massive regeneration scheme has been unveiled at last. Still, the site plans also included a number of apartment buildings offering local people the chance to move into an affordable accommodation, but these have yet to materialise, raising further concern over the wellbeing of the local community.