Rihanna postpones New York gig for basketball match

Rihanna has postponed her upcoming gig in New York City so the local basketball team can use the venue for a key game.

The Umbrella hitmaker was due to play at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Saturday (04May13), but she has agreed to push the show back until Tuesday (07May13) so the venue's resident team, the Brooklyn Nets, can face the Chicago Bulls in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Playoffs.

Venue bosses have praised Rihanna for co-operating with the team's schedule and they even invited her to watch the big game.

Brett Yormark, CEO of Barclays Center, says in a statement, "I want to apologise to Rihanna's fans for the inconvenience of having to reschedule her show at Barclays Center from Saturday, May 4 to Tuesday, May 7 due to Game 7 of the Brooklyn Nets-Chicago Bulls NBA (National Basketball Association) Playoffs series.

"I want to thank Rihanna for working with us on this new date and for understanding what a Game 7 in Brooklyn means to the borough. We look forward to a special concert and I hope Rihanna will be our guest at Game 7."

The Rolling Stones were left in a similar predicament recently as they had to push back the opening gig of their 50 & Counting tour so the Los Angeles Lakers could play at the city's Staples Center on 2 May (13).