Voters to Islanders: No new arena for you!

NY Islanders owner Charles Wang

((ht: nydailynews.com))

It appears the New York Islanders will be spending another season in the palatial digs of the Nassau Coliseum. The Islanders are hoping to move out of the Coliseum, consistently ranked as the worst arena in Professional Sports.

Tuesday night, there was a proposal for Nassau County to agree to spend $400 million building the Islanders a new home. It failed. Some 57% of the 89,000 people who turned out to vote--said "No".

The owner of the team is looking at options to move, though the team is obligated via contract to play at the dump/Coliseum until 2015.

Read more from the New York Daily News RIGHT HERE

Really, this isn't a huge surprise. Given the current economic times, getting any kind of public financing for a Sports arena is going to be virtually impossible. And it should be.

Yeah, we, like everyone else realizes the Islanders are playing in a crappy arena. But it is just bad luck or bad timing or whatever else you want to call it that they can't get funding. Because even if they were the Detroit Red Wings, it would be tough to get the funding.

Sure, we saw in the article the County's projection of what it would cost them to lose the team and he's got a valid point. The big problem is not the revenue projection in the future, it's convincing people that making the outlay now, when they don't have it, would be worth it.

The folks at MyFoxNy.com have the TV story:

Voters Reject New Islanders' Arena: MyFoxNY.com

Islanders Get Bond Plan Ready For Vote

((HT: MyFoxNY))

Looks like the New York Islanders are one step closer to not moving to Kansas City.

A lot of Nassau County ((NY)) muckety-mucks gathered together for a photo op and press opportunity, joining Islanders owner Charles Wang, to announce a proposed US$400-million bond issue for a new facility- with the help of the Shinnecock Indian Nation.

Think casino, arena, and development that's not the Lighthouse Project...

Carolyn Gusoff has the update...

New Nassau Coliseum Plan: MyFoxNY.com

A's Staying, Islanders Leaving...?

We're 50-50 with this next story...

You all know that the Oakland A's have been trying to get out of the Alameda County Coliseum ever since, well, the Civil War. It's old. They're trying to squeeze as much revenue out of the place as they can, and no one is coming to see the games in Oakland.

So, while the 49'ers are chasing a new home in Santa Clara, the A's were looking in San Jose.

Doesn't seem like that idea is going to work now...
Sydnie Kohara has your introductions on the "why"...
((HT: KPIX-TV/CBS5))


For the other story, we go to the other coast...

New York Islanders owner Charles Wang has invested, and lost, a boatload of money in a rat pit in Uniondale, Long Island. Yes, the HQ is talking about the Nassau County Coliseum. Everyone and their mother knows the place is a rat hole- even the commissioner of the National Hockey League agrees with the majority of us for a change.

He's even gone as far as encouraging a change- and soon...

But the pols on the Island aren't green-lighting Wang's multi-billion Lighthouse development project to the specs he would like.

Hazel Sanchez went chasing out on the Island...
((HT: WCBS-TV))


Wang has even gone as far as saying he'll look elsewhere if Lighthouse isn't approved. The HQ has heard Brooklyn (with the Nets) and Kansas City- where AEG has scheduled an Islanders game for exhibition season.

((Rub chin back and forth here))

Yeah, like the HQ doesn't know where this is headed...

Nassau Coliseum Renovation Hearing In LI

((HT: MyFoxNY))

The Hempstead Town Board hosted a public hearing Tuesday on environmental issues associated with the plan to refurbish the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and the development of 150 acres surrounding the arena.

At times, the hearing seemed more like a pep rally for the New York Islanders, who are seeking a new arena in order to stay on Long Island. The hockey commissioner has called the coliseum the worst facility in North America.

"This project represents the concept of new suburbia, what we can be once again for America," said Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi.

Government agencies, elected officials and the general public weighed in on the Lighthouse Group's state-mandated environmental report. They addressed concerns about traffic, air quality, sewage, drinking water, garbage disposal, and more.

Although support for the project appeared to be strong, some local residents did come to talk about their concerns about the size and scope of the project.

Here's the update from WPIX-TV about Charles Wang's Lighthouse Project...

Wang Regrets Buying Islanders

((HT: CP))

New York Islanders owner Charles Wang ((pictured, thanks Mike Stobe/Getty)) says he regrets buying the money-losing NHL team nine years ago.

"If I had the chance I wouldn't do it again," Wang told Newsday.

Citing the team's annual audited financial reports, Newsday reported Saturday on its Web site that Wang has spent US$208.8 million -- an average of $23 million per year -- to keep the team operating. He also spent $74.2 million when he and Sanjay Kumar bought the club and assumed $97 million in liabilities.

"His numbers are real," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told Newsday. "Yes, we're aware the Islanders lose money, a significant amount of money. And it goes back to the team's need for a new arena."

Wang said he initially assumed Nassau Coliseum would either be refurbished or replaced within a few years, but his proposed $3.7 billion Lighthouse Project has been held up and is still under review by the Town of Hempstead.

"Never in my life, would I have anticipated this thing could be dragged out for seven, eight years," said Wang, the founder of Computer Associates.

An NHL-worst 26-47-9 this season, the Islanders will play a pre-season game in September in Kansas City, Mo., prompting speculation about a move. Officials in Willets Point in Queens also have expressed interest in the team.

"I'm not saying I'll move," Wang said. "I'm saying I'll explore all my options."
Wang and Kumar, the former Computer Associates chief executive, bought the Islanders in 2000 for about $190 million. Wang bought out Kumar -- serving a 12-year prison term for a $400 million accounting fraud scandal -- in 2004.

Bettman Speaks on Islanders Situation

((HT: NY Newsday via Howard Bloom))

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman Friday said that Long Island politicians can't afford to ignore the pleas of Islanders owner Charles Wang for approval of the Lighthouse Project to renovate Nassau Coliseum and develop the surrounding area in the hope that the problem will go away. Describing the Coliseum, Bettman said, "It's antiquated; it's outdated, and it's unrealistic to expect the Islanders to play there a second longer than they have to."
Bettman made his remarks during the course of an interview lasting nearly two hours with representatives of the Associated Press Sports Editors organization. He covered a wide variety of economic issues but none more important to Islanders fans than the fate of the Lighthouse Project and its impact on whether Wang eventually might be forced to consider moving the team.

The commissioner praised Wang's commitment to Long Island and the investment he's made to keep the team in place. But Town of Hempstead supervisor Kate Murray recently has expressed her opposition to the size of the project, which includes a luxury hotel, convention center, sports training facility, retail outlets, restaurants, sprawling housing development and minor-league baseball park. Peter Schmitt, minority leader in the Nassau County legislature, also has expressed reservations about the project and an air of indifference toward keeping the Islanders.

Bettman seemed to aim his comments at that target when considering Wang's timetable and his alternatives if it is not met. "If the people running Nassau County or the Town of Hempstead think this is a problem that's going to go away and therefore, they don't have to deal with it, I think that's a misguided notion," Bettman said. "This problem will get worse and worse.

"I think Charles, if this timetable is not satisfied, will be looking at his options. That doesn't preclude other options on Long Island . Nobody in their right mind is going to stay in that building a moment longer than they have to. To me, what's crazy is what a great project this is for Nassau County . Here you have an opportunity in an economic downturn to create a hub with jobs and everything else that a hub for Long Island would have. As part of that, you get a newly renovated building, which can serve as a home for Long Island 's only [major] professional team. Why has it taken this long? I don't know the answer to that.

"So, at some point, he's going to look at his options because he has no choice."
At the moment, Bettman said the league has no plans to relocate a franchise or expand. "I like all my 30 clubs where they are," he said. "I know there's interest in other places, but I like where we are. It doesn't mean, at some point in the future, in a vastly different economic climate we might not be looking at other opportunities."
Bettman also was asked about the possibility of the NBA's New Jersey Nets moving from the Izod Center at the Meadowlands to join the Devils at the Prudential Center in downtown Newark . NBA commissioner David Stern told APSE the nets are fine where they are, but Bettman had a different view.

"I don't understand why the Nets aren't playing at Prudential Center now," the NHL commissioner said. "The Devils are drawing, and the atmosphere is great. It has to be costing the State of new Jersey a boatload of money to keep [ Izod Center ] open. I hope, at some point, the Nets decide to go there."

Wang Still Threatening Move Of Islanders

((HT: Howard Bloom/KC Star))

New York Islanders owner Charles Wang is getting serious about moving his franchise. And that can be good news for Kansas City in its attempts to land an NHL team.

Wang has let it be known that if he doesn’t get approval for a $3 billion project on Long Island that would include a renovated Nassau Coliseum, he will move or sell the franchise.

As part of a 6,000-page draft environmental impact statement the developers of the Lighthouse Project delivered to the Town of Hempstead on February 24, is this statement, as reported by Newsday:

“The transformation of the Coliseum, including the sports complex and associated parking,” the developers’ report states, “is … essential if the New York Islanders are to remain. In order to absorb the cost of this transformation, it is necessary to develop the remainder of the components of the Lighthouse. Thus, if the Lighthouse is not approved and developed in a manner that can financially support the transformation of the Coliseum, the New York Islanders will leave this venue.”

The Islanders’ lease at antiquated Nassau Coliseum, the third-oldest — and smallest — arena in the NHL, expires in 2015. But Wang last week said that an agreement he made with the county in 2007 to renovate the arena and develop the area around it includes language that gives the team an out.

Wang has received offers from politicians in Queens and Brooklyn to facilitate a move to those boroughs, and the Islanders are scheduled to play preseason games next September in Kansas City’s Sprint Center and in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where they will be spending part of their training camp.

Wang, in an interview with Newsday last week, said: “If we don’t build this, shame on us. This is something that has to be done. If we can’t, you tell me no. It’s OK. I mean, really, we’ll go where we’re loved.”

Nassau County loses between $1 million and $2 million a year on the upkeep of the Coliseum, and Wang has said he loses about $20 million a year operating the Islanders.

Islanders-Kings Set For Kansas City

Darren Dreger of TSN reports that a match-up has been set up between the LA Kings and the New York Islanders for the Sprint Center in Kansas City in September.

We all know that exhibition games are played all the time in cities that don't have NHL franchises. That's the easy part...

The operator of the Sprint Center, which is still begging for a primary tenant, is the Anschutz Entertainment Group ((AEG)). AEG's Chief Operating Officer is Tim Leiweke. Leiweke is also the governor of the Kings.

No, the Kings aren't going to be the ones moving any time soon. AEG is also the operator of Staples Center- the home of the Kings, Clippers, and the Lakers. It might be the Islanders, though, if owner Charles Wang doesn't get his way.

The Nassau Coliseum on Long Island is a pothole. I really can't put it any nicer. All you have to do is ask any of the rats or plumbers that have taken up residences over the years. Wang has tried to float his "Lighthouse" project to improve the area- taking the 100 surrounding acres and converting it into an arena, mall, multi-purpose facility. The politicos in the area haven't quite given Wang any answers as to the Lighthouse's future.

Obviously, Wang doesn't like that... and what this is turning into is a warning shot across Long Island's bow on the whole. AEG has always looked for a primary for the building. They promised the Pittsburgh Penguins everything short of wives and mothers of children to move there before the new arena deal was reached.

So, now it's the Islanders turn. And they just moved to the front of the dance card.

Other franchises in trouble ((unless, of course, you listen to the NHL front office)) like Phoenix, Nashville, Miami, and Atlanta may have to move quickly and kiss up to AEG if they want a way out of their current situation in the attempt to improve it.

If Kansas City is taken off the map, then what is left for the other three...? Jim Balsillie's interest could take a franchise north of the border- which is where it should be in the first place. Waterloo, Hamilton, or Toronto II shouldn't matter- except in the perpetually, short-sighted eyes of the league office.

That takes care of another market... then what...? You're really stretching it, then.

And Charles Wang, through all of this, just became the belle of the ball.