Visiting the Barclays Center was quite the sensual experience – sights of course, but more surprisingly, smells. A defining characteristic of the Barclays Center’s premium club spaces and entrances are the fantastic scents emanating from seemingly all directions. This isn’t the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton, however… it’s one of the top-ten highest-grossing entertainment venues in the world.

“This kind of inside access isn’t something you’ll get from watching Nets highlights on SportsCenter, or even something more proactive like reading SportsBusiness Journal.”

That’s not all that stuck out to me from our exclusive tour led by two exemplary Partnership Marketing professionals in Louis Frangella (my Junior Mentor) and Samson Feldman (MSBA Class of 2012). From the concourses to the court lighting (“theater-style”, meaning primetime smoky lights on the court surrounded by relative darkness over the seats), Barclays truly has its own identity. It’s not just New York’s “other” arena (after Madison Square Garden); it features a completely different energy, an energy of class and upscale swagger.

Have you ever gotten an inside look at a place that inspires you in a career sense? You’re curious to learn everything you can about the business and its challenges and opportunities. You envision yourself tackling them. You just vibe with it. That was me at Barclays, and I didn’t necessarily expect it. That’s because, while I’ve definitely had an interest in sponsorship and still do (I do intern in that department for The Players’ Tribune, after all), it was getting this insider access that really introduced me to Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment (the company that employs Louis and Samson and creates the partnerships for the Nets, Islanders, and Barclays Center as a whole). This kind of inside access isn’t something you’ll get from watching Nets highlights on SportsCenter, or even something more proactive like reading SportsBusiness Journal.

With only a few weeks remaining in MSBA 2016, I’m looking to do my best to make the most of every experience we have remaining. After MSBA is over, it’ll be up to us to use the connections we’ve made and make more if we ever want such inside access again. Honestly, it’s an exciting challenge when you see yourself already making strides. You repeat the processes to build your network and set yourself up with opportunities so many times that it feels like clockwork. You’ve got to bring your A game every day in MSBA, but it’s a challenge I feel more capable than ever to handle.