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June 4, 2012
Barclays Not Giving Up on NHL
NetsDaily
Today in fantasy hockey...
The sightlines are awful for hockey. A big chunk of Barclays will be empty when the Islanders and Devils play a preseason game on October 2, labor problems permitting. You can't see the goal from seats at one end of arena. So whole sections will be closed off; the seats won't be sold. Still, conditions are so bad at the Islanders current home, Nassau Coliseum, the NHL is seriously considering Brooklyn.
The Post reports that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman quietly visited the nearly complete arena on Friday to get a tour. Isles owner Charles Wang has already had at least one tour and Bruce Ratner and Brett Yormark have spoken with both men and made public pitches about the possibilities every chance they get. The Islanders must play three more seasons in Nassau, which could give Barclays a chance to upgrade for hockey and give the arena more than 14,500 seats.
NoLandGrab: Except the Barclays Center can't "upgrade" to give the arena more seats for hockey, without (a) making the arena markedly worse for basketball or (b) cutting off one wall to stretch the building, which (c) would make the arena markedly worse for basketball and (d) can't be done anyway because (e) they purportedly plan to build additional buildings on the arena block.
Related coverage nonsense...
NY Post, Islanders moving to Brooklyn worth discussing
To be sure, there are roadblocks to consider in moving the Islanders to Brooklyn, the least of which by the way is Barclays Center’s seating capacity of less than 15,000 for hockey, because revenue is about gate receipts, not attendance.
There is the literal issue of roads, limited parking and whether folks from the Island would travel by mass transit to watch a transplanted team or whether the franchise would have to develop a new fan base within the city that has longed pledged its allegiance to the Rangers (as the Nets will do within the boroughs that are betrothed to the Knicks).
But it’s a conversation worth having.
NLG: Actually, no, it's not.
the olde pro, Barclays Center Tour
Most importantly, I got to see the floor with the ice rink in place. Unfortunately they didn't work out the seats situation for an ideal layout when the Islanders move to the city and become the Brooklyn Warriors full-time, but they'll make it work....
NLG: Actually, no, they won't.
Posted by eric at June 4, 2012 10:52 AM