Islanders moving to Brooklyn?

[2009fatman]

Just heard Francesa mention that the Islanders will be playing their opening game next year at the Nets new Arena in Brooklyn. I've heard nothing new out here on the Island about any new building being built for the Islanders, so I guess It's the Brooklyn Islanders?

How *ucking sad for LI.

January 31, 2012, 3:59 pm
Islanders to Play Devils in Preseason Game at New Arena in Brooklyn
By JEFF Z. KLEIN and CHRISTOPHER BOTTA
A rendering of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.Courtesy NetsA rendering of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Perhaps hinting that they are seriously considering alternatives to Nassau County, the Islanders will be the home team in the first N.H.L. game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The Islanders and Brett Yormark, chief executive of Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment and the Nets, announced Tuesday that the Isles would play the Devils in an Oct. 2 exhibition at the new Brooklyn Nets basketball arena.

The announcement serves as another shot across the bow of Nassau County politicians and voters, who have rejected every effort by Islanders owner Charles Wang to upgrade or replace Nassau Coliseum, the club’s 40-year-old home. Although the 16,250-seat Coliseum is one of the N.H.L.’s best buildings for sightlines and intimacy, it is virtually inaccessible by public transit and has few of the money-spinning corporate luxury enticements that provide revenue at other arenas.

When asked last September if the Islanders would move to the Brooklyn arena when the club’s Coliseum lease expires in 2015, Bruce Ratner, the developer behind the Barclays Center. said, “I would hope that’s possible.”

In a phone conversation Tuesday, Yormark said, “We would love for Charles to consider Brooklyn.”

Yormark said the Barclays Center approached the Islanders about the game, but added that Nets ownership has not inquired about ownership of the Islanders or any other N.H.L. franchise. There are also no current plans to host any regular-season games at the Barclays Center.

Yormark said the exhibition game was “a first step: good for the Islanders to play before hockey fans in Brooklyn, and good for Brooklyn to have its first N.H.L. game.”

N.H.L. Commissioner Gary Bettman has been a vocal supporter of Wang’s efforts to get a new or extensively upgraded building for the Islanders. He commented briefly on the Islanders situation in answer to reporters’ questions Saturday during the N.H.L. All-Star weekend in Ottawa.

“They still have three and a half years to go,” Bettman said, referring to the club’s Nassau Coliseum lease. “Long Island deserves a new building, not just for hockey but for concerts and family shows and the like.”

The Barclays Center would qualify as that new building, at least according to the N.H.L.’s territorial terms. The Islanders are entitled to play anywhere on Long Island, including Brooklyn and Queens, so a move to the Atlantic Yards would not qualify as a relocation.

Yormark confirmed that the Nets and the arena group met with Bettman last year in an informational meeting to let the N.H.L. know it was interested in hosting a league team. The group pitched its advantages: 2.7 million people, public transportation and a state-of-the-art arena – even if it is tiny by league standards, with a capacity of 14,500 for hockey.

The league’s current smallest arena is the Winnipeg Jets’ 15,000-seat MTS Centre, where every game has been sold out in this, their first season back in the N.H.L. since 1996. The Islanders’ official average attendance is just 12,670 this season, 29th in the 30-team league

The game will be one of the first events at the building, which will open on Sept. 28 with the first of several concerts by Jay-Z, who is also one of the arena’s main investors.

The Barclays Center’s original design, by the prominent Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, included a full configuration for N.H.L. hockey. But when the Atlantic Yards development was downsized in the face of strong community opposition and a struggling economy, Gehry was let go. His design was replaced with a cheaper, more modest one that treated a hockey rink like an afterthought.

When the Barclays Center’s seating configurations were released in 2010, they did not include a seating chart for hockey.

The Islanders have struggled with poor attendance and poor performance on the ice for years. Their last playoff appearance was in 2008 2007, and they have not advanced beyond the first round since 1993 – a sad fate for a team that won four straight Stanley Cups and a record 19 consecutive playoff series in the early 1980s.

The announcement coincides with a screening of “Battle for Brooklyn” at the Old American Can Factory on 3rd Street and Third Avenue at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The 2011 documentary traces the seven-year effort of a Prospect Heights man to block the arena’s construction and save his home from demolition.

[MCBNY]

Hooray Brooklyn!

Hopefully it'll come to fruition.

[2009fatman]

Originally Posted by MCBNY

Hooray Brooklyn!

Hopefully it'll come to fruition.

It is great for Brooklyn. I like the fact that they'll be sharing an arena with the Nets again, if it does happen. Just sucks for Long Island. We lost the Nets, Jets and now looks like the Islanders too. I really thought that Lighthouse project would happen.

At least Wong can keep them in New York(Brooklyn), a shorter train ride from LI, then going to the Garden. I hope they can take some of the fan base in Brooklyn away from the Rangers too.

[bigalbarracuda]

Brooklyn is on Long Island... not sure if they'd even change New York to Brooklyn.

IMO this is the best case scenario for Islanders fans. They can hop on the LIRR, get off at Atlantic Terminal and go see their team play in an NHL caliber arena. The alternative was KC or some other god-forsaken place.

If Long Islanders are upset they can blame their NIMBY neighbors and the myopic politicians they elected who refused a new arena, refused transportation upgrades, refused mixed use development, refused multi-family housing all in the name of "preserving the suburban character of the area." Yeh... real beautiful area they got there.

[2009fatman]

Originally Posted by bigalbarracuda

If Long Islanders are upset they can blame their NIMBY neighbors and the myopic politicians they elected who refused a new arena

You're 100% correct on that. All the politicians have to do is threaten a Police PCT closing, like they're doing now, and the sheep will follow. Nassau county Taxes are insane.With the money they're taking in, they cant provide for a family entertainment complex?

Barclay's is a big improvement. There is no way I would ever bring my kids to the Coliseum in the shape It's in now.

[Dreamers]

The NETS. Who are they is that some minor league soccer team. Who cares two teams on the verge of being kicked out of their leagues because they suck.

[leftturn3]

I hate to burst everyones bubbles but Brooklyn, as well as Queens, are technicly part of Long Island, or should I say Brooklyn and Queens reside in/on Long Island. Non-the-less, it does suck for people further out on the island to lose a local team, but playing Nassau County or in Brooklyn, they are still the Islanders.

[2009fatman]

Originally Posted by Dreamers

The NETS. Who are they is that some minor league soccer team. Who cares two teams on the verge of being kicked out of their leagues because they suck.

Nobody cares about the Nets because they play in New Jersey, same reason why the Devils don't matter here, even though they've won Cups. Once the Nets become a NYC team next year you'll see their team getting double the coverage and attention they're getting now. They will have no problem selling out the new Barclay's Arena.

[Jordy]

Originally Posted by 2009fatman

It is great for Brooklyn. I like the fact that they'll be sharing an arena with the Nets again, if it does happen. Just sucks for Long Island. We lost the Nets, Jets and now looks like the Islanders too. I really thought that Lighthouse project would happen.

At least Wong can keep them in New York(Brooklyn), a shorter train ride from LI, then going to the Garden. I hope they can take some of the fan base in Brooklyn away from the Rangers too.

If that actually happened, then they weren't really true Rangers fans in the first place. Good riddance.

[crasherino]

Its too bad they didn't contemplate a hockey team when they built the stadium so they could have a greater capacity than 14.5k, but at this point with the situation being what it is in Nassau, Brooklyn is definitely a viable option.

For me personally, it would be fantastic as it would be 10x easier and closer to get to games. I recognize (and feel badly for) that it sucks for the loyal fans who live in Suffolk who would be very much inconvenienced by the move...but its a lot closer than KC.

[Traitor Jay & the Woodies]

The Long Island Rail Road station at Atlantic Terminal (Flatbush Avenue) should make getting to games less of an issue for many on Long Island. It would be easier for many LIers to train to the game than drive....

[2foolish197]

...disagree with alot of posts here...Nassau Col is still a great place to actually SEE a hockey game...and as far as accessiblity...its a breeze to get to by car in an area where nothing is gotten to by anything other than a car...put a decent team in there...

[Traitor Jay & the Woodies]

Originally Posted by 2foolish197

...disagree with alot of posts here...Nassau Col is still a great place to actually SEE a hockey game...and as far as accessiblity...its a breeze to get to by car in an area where nothing is gotten to by anything other than a car...put a decent team in there...

In a traffic free world it is a breeze.

[crasherino]

Originally Posted by 2foolish197

...disagree with alot of posts here...Nassau Col is still a great place to actually SEE a hockey game...and as far as accessiblity...its a breeze to get to by car in an area where nothing is gotten to by anything other than a car...put a decent team in there...

To see a hockey game, I agree. To take a piss, get a bite to eat or a drink during intermission, you risk getting stampeded.

[Timmy®]

Originally Posted by 2foolish197

...disagree with alot of posts here...Nassau Col is still a great place to actually SEE a hockey game...

agree 100 percent. the old low roof arenas were so much better than these new
soul-less caverns. not that the Isle fans have had much to cheer about lately, but that place rocks when things get exciting. Rangers fans are lucky that MSG is actually an old style low roof arena. Go to the United Center in Chicago or the Bell Centre in Montreal - those places suck.

[DDNYjets]

From what I understand the Barclay's Center wasn't built to accommodate two sports but I am sure they can make adjustments.

I always thought if they would end up in Flushing if the Coliseum completely falls though. Looks like it is getting to that point.

I don't blame the owner at all. The island (mainly Nassau) is ass backwards. Can't believe how much it has changed. The local pols are running it completely into the ground.

[Timmy®]

Originally Posted by DDNYjets

I don't blame the owner at all. The island (mainly Nassau) is ass backwards. Can't believe how much it has changed. The local pols are running it completely into the ground.

They don't deserve a hockey team, sometimes drawing 8k fans with reasonably priced tickets and food packages. It wasn't a good year but they are a team getting better with an exciting core. Because of the arena they've had a hard time getting free agents (since Ryan Smyth debacle), they've drafted nicely and picked up several players that worked out surprisingly well.

[Traitor Jay & the Woodies]

The NVMC is *the* best place to watch a game from the stands in the NHL. If you forget about the concourse and the fact that the place is falling apart - the views provided of the action are unmatched.

But that's not the point of the thread.

The building needs to be replaced. The team will go somewhere. Brooklyn is better than Quebec or Kansas City. And Barclays will be "small" by current standards.

Take it and run Islander fans.

[crasherino]

Originally Posted by Traitor Jay & the Woodies

The NVMC is *the* best place to watch a game from the stands in the NHL. If you forget about the concourse and the fact that the place is falling apart - the views provided of the action are unmatched.

But that's not the point of the thread.

The building needs to be replaced. The team will go somewhere. Brooklyn is better than Quebec or Kansas City. And Barclays will be "small" by current standards.
Take it and run Islander fans.

True - if they ever get to the point where they have to worry about the building being too small, they can make up their money with an increase in ticket prices. Now, they probably realize about 60% of what is actually printed on the ticket between discounts given to STHs and giveaways.

Its better to have a 15K arena that will be sold out when you're hot than an 18K arena that feels like a library when you're drawing 12.5k.

Brooklyn seems like its the only plausible option as 2015 gets closer. Really short-sided by the folks who built the arena not to contemplate hockey though. That was really dumb.

[detjetsfan]

Originally Posted by bigalbarracuda

If Long Islanders are upset they can blame their NIMBY neighbors and the myopic politicians they elected who refused a new arena, refused transportation upgrades, refused mixed use development, refused multi-family housing all in the name of "preserving the suburban character of the area." Yeh... real beautiful area they got there.

LOL what a joke.


Uniondale is a warzone. Ditto for Hempstead. Some of the sh*tholes in those towns would give Detroit a run for its money. Can't believe those idiots actually refused public money for a new arena, better public transportation, new businesses etc. I guess the drug dealers in Uniondale and the punkass trust fund babies at Hofstra would have been inconvenienced by the construtction. That's Lost Island for you land of the overpriced ghettos full of idiots.