By Gordon Fisher
The four-time Stanley Cup winning New York Islanders will be officially returning to their roots in Long Island after the Empire State Development board unanimously approved a $1.3 billion project for the new arena to be built adjacent from Belmont Park racetrack, Crain’s reported.
The $1.3 billion project that will bring the NHL’s New York Islanders back to Nassau County — with a new hockey arena, hotel, and retail complex adjacent to Belmont Park.
The Islanders have played at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn since 2015, a move that had not been warmly received by Islander fans, many who are in Long Island and Queens. This is due to the long commute and the poor site lines of the arena which was not designed for hockey. Serval thousand seats in the Barclay Center have obstructed view and are rarely sold.
While the Islanders have a nice sized fan base in Brooklyn, the Rangers have always been the more popular team in the 5 boroughs, even though the Islanders in their short 46 year existence have won 4 Stanley Cups, compared to the Rangers who have also won 4 Stanley Cups in a 93 year existence. The Rangers before winning the Cup in 1994, went 54 years without the hockey championship.
Before the move, the team played at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale since its opening in 1972. That rink is where fans watched an Islanders team win four straight Stanley Cups, from 1980 to 1983. Beginning in 2017, the Islanders began playing several games in Nassau Coliseum with approval from the NHL. The newly rebuilt Nassau Coliseum is now too small in capacity to be a permanent home for a professional hockey club.
“It’s time to rock and roll and put up that great building to have a home that we can call our own to keep the Islanders on Long Island,” Islanders co-owner John Ledecky said to the Long Island Press. “Because the fans deserve this”
The new arena is scheduled to open in the 2021-22 season. The state-of-the-art structure will sit on a 43-acre vacant plot of state-owned land in the unincorporated New York Community of Elmont, home to the historic Belmont Park racetrack, Crain’s explained.
Belmont Park officials are backing the arena project, hoping a new NHL hockey venue and accompanying retail offerings will attract new fans to the fading thoroughbred sport. Some Belmont Park races would temporarily be moved to nearby Aqueduct to accommodate construction.
The key approval follows last month’s announcement by state officials that a new Long Island Railroad station would be built to accommodate fans traveling to and from the arena.
The NY Islanders had an outstanding season last year, making it to the second round of the NHL playoffs and have a young and impressive hockey club.
In ancient Rome, government attempted to curry favor with the masses by offering free bread and circuses. Today, we have sports pork. How sad that taxpayers are continually asked to pay for new stadiums. Public dollars are being used as corporate welfare to subsidize a private-sector business. The only real beneficiaries of these expenditures are team owners and their players, who earn far more than the average fan.
It is impossible to judge the amount of new economic activities that these so-called public benefits will generate. Between selling the stadium name, season sky boxes and reserve seating, cable, television and radio revenues, concession refreshment and souvenir sales along with rental income for other sports, rock concerts and commercial events, it is hard to believe that the Islanders Hockey Team owner and Belmont Park developers can’t finance the proposed new stadium on their own.
Professional sports are not an essential service and should not qualify for government subsidy. Scarce taxpayer funds would be better spent elsewhere. If this is going to be such a great financial deal, why don’t team owners float their own bonds or issue stock to finance the Belmont Park stadium rather than turn to taxpayers and government for support? Go obtain loans from banks, like medium and small businesses.
Real business people believe in capitalism and build companies on their own. How sad that some don’t want to do it the old fashion way by sweat and hard work. They are looking for shortcuts in the form of subsidies at taxpayers expense and favors from elected officials. What is the cost of improved sewer, water, electrical, road, traffic signal and other infrastructure improvements? There is also increased fire, police and sanitation services. How much will taxpayers be on the hook to pick up the tab?
The Belmont Park arena project promises all sorts of service options which are already available. Do we really need another “retail village” with various stores and boutiques? They also propose to offer new dining options, sports bars and restaurants. Next, there will be conference centers and meeting rooms along with movie theaters and concert facilities. All of these so-called benefits would just compete against existing shopping malls, upscale stores, restaurants, sports bars and end up stealing some of their customers. There are already plenty of hotels and colleges which offer conference centers. The same is true for movie theaters and smaller more intimate concert facilities.
Since there are less than 60 Islanders home games, the facility will have to be leased out for another 100 events to turn a profit. Why would any rock band appear there, when they can go to Jones Beach Theater, Westbury Music Fair, Nassau Coliseum, Shea Stadium, Arthur Ash Stadium, Forest Hills Stadium. Madison Square Garden, Barclay Arena or Radio City Music Hall? The same is true for World Wrestling Federation, circuses, college sports or other events requiring space for several thousand participants.
(Larry Penner is a transportation historian, writer and advocate who previously worked 31 years for the United States Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office. This included the development, review, approval and oversight for billions in capital projects and programs for the MTA, NYC Transit, Long Island Rail Road, Metro North Rail Road MTA Bus, Nassau County NICE Bus, New Jersey Transit along with 30 other transit agencies in NY & NJ)..
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