With the New Jersey Nets still wallowing near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the team is reaching out to a new fan base on the other side of the world.
Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov announced the launch of the team’s new Russian website, which he hopes attracts new fans from his home country, as well as the New York area’s large Russian community.
"I'm glad we're reaching out to our global fan base in a personalized way," Prokhorov’s statement said, according to the New York Post. "We want Russian speakers from New Jersey to New York to Moscow to see the Nets as their home team, and a Russian-language website is an excellent way to further that goal."
Brooklyn, where the Nets are moving in 2012, holds a majority of New York’s Russian-speaking residents. Census results list the New York City Russian-speaking population at about 250,000, but community leaders say it’s closer to half a million, according to the Post.
"We're excited that Russian-speaking fans will now have the chance to get closer to Nets basketball in a comprehensive way," Nets CEO Brett Yormark said. "While we strive to become Russia's NBA home team, we are also gaining a large Russian fan base in the metropolitan area, which can now fully experience the Nets."
If the Nets continue to flounder in the standings, they’ll need all the support they can get.
