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February 23, 2012
Barclays Center could be a good fit for Isles
Newsday
by Neil Best
Except for the fact that the Barclays Center's ice rink doesn't actually fit in the Barclays Center. But let's never mind reality.
Barclays Center was built primarily by and for the Nets, but as the arena takes its final shape, another potential use has become clearer than ever.
Evident around the perimeter of the arena floor in the heart of Brooklyn is the outline of a hockey rink, the one that on Oct. 2 will host the first sports event in the building -- an Islanders preseason game against the Devils.
That game inevitably has prompted speculation the site could be a landing place for the Islanders after their lease at Nassau Coliseum expires in 2015. It is too soon to assess the likelihood of such a move; it is not too soon to assess the arena's ability to accommodate it.
"That, physically, is easy to accomplish,'' said Bob Sanna, an executive vice president of Forest City Ratner who is in charge of construction. He said the building always was designed with a regulation rink in mind and has plenty of locker room space to house a home team.
NoLandGrab: Three weeks ago in The New York Times: "Mr. Sanna said the construction team would also have to design additional locker rooms for hockey players."
Posted by eric at February 23, 2012 11:27 AM