Bruce Ratner selling majority stake in Barclays Center

The majority share of Barclays Center is hitting the market.

Bruce Ratner, who owns a minority share of the Brooklyn Nets and is the majority owner of Barclays Center, will have an investment bank begin selling his 55 percent share in the facility next week, according to a report from Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Journal.

It's an interesting scenario in Brooklyn, as it's now possible the facility will be owned by someone other than one of the two tenants: the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Islanders. The Nets' ownership holds a 45 percent stake in the building, and the New York Islanders, who are set to move in next season, own none. 

It's possible the Nets buy a larger share, but that's complicated by the recent reports that Nets majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov may be looking to divest from the team to a degree through an arrangement with Guggenheim Partners.

There also appears to be some disagreement on the value of the arena, with investment-banking sources pegging it at $750 million, but earlier reports going as high as $1.1 billion.

Barclays Center released a statement on the search for new ownership:

Our goal is to identify a strategic partner as we continue to capitalize on the great performance of Barclays Center and the promise of Nassau Coliseum. The current management team (Ratner and Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark) will continue in its existing role.

The Nets lost an estimated $144 million in 2013-14, by far the largest loss in basketball, but a good deal of that is due to excessive luxury-tax spending. Barclays Center is said to bring in more than $30 million annually.

Ratner, through Forest City Enterprises, has also been looking to sell his 20 percent stake in the Nets.