New York Islanders Close To Securing Long Island Future

June 23, 2011

The New York Islanders National Hockey League (NHL) franchise has taken an important step towards reaching a deal that would secure the franchise’s future in Long Island.

Edward Mangano, the Nassau County Executive, announced on Wednesday that a lease agreement has been reached as part of plans to create a top sports and entertainment venue which would ensure the Islanders remain in Long Island through to 2045, subject to a public referendum on the construction of the new stadium to be held on August 1.The proposed arena will be located at the Hub in Nassau County on the site of Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum;

Mangano said: “This historic agreement retains our New York Islanders while ensuring that residents earn dividends should they vote to invest in Nassau County’s future.

“From Islander tickets to concert tickets, pretzels to hot dogs, Nassau County will share in a portion of dollars spent at the new arena that residents will own. The construction of a new arena will retain and create thousands of jobs and be a catalyst to generate the revenue needed to hold the line on property taxes.”

Charles Wang, owner of the Islanders, added: “With this unprecedented agreement, we are paying for this state-of-the-art, sports-entertainment destination while creating thousands of jobs and new revenues streams that benefit Nassau County homeowners and businesses. The Islanders were born on Long Island, won four Stanley Cups for Long Island and want to call Long Island home for decades to come.”

According to a report conducted by Camoin Associates, a renowned firm in public and private sector economic development, the new agreement could be worth up to US$1.2bn. The new arena is expected to create over 1,500 new jobs during construction and more than 3,000 permanent jobs following its completion.