Even if you don’t live in Brooklyn, one of the five boroughs that comprise New York City, you know about Brooklyn.

Hollywood put it on the big screen in Saturday Night Fever, The French Connection and Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla. The Beastie Boys rapped about it in “No Sleep ‘Till Brooklyn.” And in 1957, the Dodgers left Brooklyn’s pickles, knishes, egg creams and Coney Island for the bright lights of L.A.

Beginning with the 2012-13 NBA campaign, the Nets will move from New Jersey to Brooklyn. More than seven years in the planning and almost 40 lawsuits later, Barclays Center is now just a year away from officially opening its doors right near the same site that local politicians back in the 1950s rejected the Dodgers’ request to build a stadium to replace Ebbets Field.

In the first of a two-part interview, Brett Yormark, CEO of Nets Basketball and president and CEO of Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment, spoke with Big Lead Sports about basketball, Brooklyn and the Barclays Center.

Big Lead Sports: Are you still 100% on track for the September 2012 opening of Barclays Center?

Brett Yormark: From a litigation standpoint, there are no major hurdles remaining. From a construction standpoint, we are on schedule. We will officially open the building Sept. 28, 2012 with a celebration of events that will run through mid-November . . . There will be a check list of things I will want to look at, and if you know me it will be a long one. But we will be ready.

BLS: What are the major challenges between now and September 2012?

BY: My toughest challenge is that there won’t be an opportunity to sleep. I don’t sleep that much to begin with, but now there will be even less time. I say that kiddingly. But, obviously, there is so much to do.

BLS: In addition to Barclays, which has a 20-year, $400 million naming rights deal, you have 12 founding and top-tier partners. Do you envision room for more corporate partners?

BY: We have an incredible base of partners. But we are still aggressively marketing and selling. There are some key categories that we are finishing off: insurance, auto, airline, to be specific. We should be able to close those out and make announcements within the next 30-40 days. That said, our philosophy in Brooklyn when it comes to the commercialization of the building is that less is more. So we are not going to overdo it.

BLS: When the Nets played at Izod Center, you found under-utilized areas within the arena that could be monetized: steps, the visitor’s locker room, unused storage rooms, high-traffic areas near the main entrance. How much of that will you be doing in Barclays Center?

BY: Partners want value. They don’t want clutter and they certainly don’t want their message to be diluted. With that in mind, and with the understanding that we want to give each of our partners a sense of ownership, there will be very little static signage. It’s all dynamic. We are giving our partners a lot of creativity and flexibility to reach their target market. Not only during Nets games, but throughout all our events. [Our strategy is] that we are not really selling signage as much as we are selling time. So we have a street-to-seat brand domination platform, where there are moments when any one of our key partners will own that building. They will be seen in every area. That has been a platform that truly resonates with the corporate community.

BLS: You already have had marketing presence in Manhattan, which is the Knicks backyard. Are you planning citywide marketing, tri-state, national?

BY: We will be going very wide and will be very active with our marketing. Digital, outdoor, print, traditional and non-traditional. Irregardless of what happens with the NBA this season, we will launch our brand campaign in February.

BLS: What will be the team’s new name?

BY: The working title for some time has been the Brooklyn Nets. At some point, though, we will make an official name change. But for many people, this has been the assumed name, and the name Bruce Ratner [former majority now minority team owner and Barclays Center developer] has used for years.

BLS: Michael Jordan was recently fined $100,000 for speaking in public about the NBA lockout. The Nets owner has a lot of money, so how much can you say about the situation?

BY: [Laughs.] I can’t go there. As far as I’m concerned, it’s business as usual.

BLS: Have there been discussions with the NBA about hosting an All-Star Game?

BY: Let me put it this way: We are in the big event business, and the All-Star Game certainly would be classified as a big event. Our goal is to be aggressive to host every big event that we can.

BLS: Have you spoken with the NFL regarding hosting events when Super Bowl XLVIII is at MetLife Stadium?

BY: They will need venues. And we certainly will raise our hand and say, “We’re here.”

(For Part 2 of the Q&A with Brett Yormark, click here.)