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August 2, 2011
With voters defeating bond for Nassau Coliseum, a big boost for the Barclays Center (if no new plan in Long Island emerges)
Atlantic Yards Report
Nassau County voters (those that bothered to turn out), given an actual opportunity to weigh in on the public funding of a new arena for the NHL's Islanders, resoundingly rejected a proposed $400 million bond issue.
Barclays Center promoters got a big boost with the defeat yesterday by Nassau County voters (well, about ten percent of them) of a bond measure to replace the Nassau Coliseum, home of the hockey Islanders and numerous concerts and shows.
While it's possible some new plan may arise to house the team, or refurbish the building, where the Islanders have a lease until 2015, the demise of the Coliseum, with no replacement, would divert events to other venues.
The closest? The Barclays Center, accessible to many Long Islanders via the Long Island Rail Road. So, even without the Islanders, the Barclays Center would gain.
...The package for the Atlantic Yards project, of course, was never put to a vote, nor presented as starkly, as tax breaks and direct subsidies were spread among city, state, and federal taxpayers.
The vote yesterday, scheduled on a summer Monday rather than Election Day, drew only about ten percent of voters--likely those motivated pro and con.
Meanwhile, let the ridiculous speculating about the Brooklyn Islanders resume.
Related coverage...
The Brooklyn Blog [NYPost.com], Nassau nix leaves door open for Islanders move to Brooklyn
For some time, officials overseeing the planned Barclays Center being built for the NBA’s Nets in Brooklyn have said the arena would be too small for NHL hockey.
However, arena officials yesterday confirmed the Barclays Center will be fitted with an NHL-regulation size arena when it opens in Sept. 2012, although they declined comment on potential interest in the Islanders.
The arena holds 18,000 seats for basketball, but some seating would have to be removed to accommodate hockey. Sources said the arena could hold about 14,500 seats for hockey.
Marty Markowitz, who, surprisingly, was not on an illegal foreign junket, had two cents left over after his recent $20,000 fine:
"If they come here, I would personally take the first spin on the Zamboni."
NoLandGrab: No doubt accompanied by Jamie.
Yahoo! Sports, After voter rejection, Islanders to Brooklyn noise pollution
NetsDaily, With Islander Arena Voted Down, Is Barclays Center A Possibility?
Posted by eric at August 2, 2011 1:37 PM