Mikhail Prokhorov: I will make the Nets champions in five years

New Jersey Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov reaffirmed his promise to lead his club to the NBA title within the next five years.

«It is quite hard to evaluate this project now, when it is in the early stages. I took over the club knowing that in two years time we will be moving to Brooklyn. New York is a massive market; the club will be making profits straight away. Its value will rise to several hundred million in no time. If the club is based in New Jersey, it cannot be self-sustaining, because it is a state of «small houses». It is a large state, similar to the Moscow suburbs. But for a project to start making a profit you need a denser fan-base,» the Russian businessman told Gazeta.ru.

«We will have a brand new arena in Brooklyn, which will attract a lot more support. Even now we can already see that ticket prices will increase threefold. The local brands will want to be advertised, we will draw a lot of interest from potential business partners. Therefore, I have no concerns about that project. Our main target is to win the NBA. I promised to do it within five years and I am sure we will succeed.»