Ummm, I’m not so sure if this will help the Islanders become more relevant (most hockey fans I know are Rangers fans) but if Jay-Z starts rapping about them— it def. can’t hurt! Lol.
The New York Islanders announced Wednesday that they have agreed to move to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center from Long Island and will share the arena with the Nets.
Islanders owner Charles Wang said the team has established a 25-year agreement to play in Barclays Center beginning in 2015-16. Their lease at Nassau Coliseum expires after the 2015 season.
The announcement was made with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz, Islanders general manager Garth Snow, and Barclays Center and Brooklyn Nets chief executive Brett Yormark in attendance.
“Brooklyn is big time and now we have the big league sports to prove it,” Bloomberg said.
The Islanders had been trying to secure a new arena near the site of the Coliseum for some time. Wang, the founder of a computer software company, presented a plan in 2003 for a privately funded multibillion-dollar development of housing, retail and a new arena on the property, but the proposal foundered amid community opposition. Nassau County voters also rejected a $400 million proposal for a new arena, funded by bonds, in August 2001.
The move to Brooklyn isn’t without complications. Under current plans, Barclays Center would hold only 14,500 for hockey, and sources familiar with the facility were skeptical regarding the arena’s long-term viability as the home of an NHL franchise. At 15,004, Winnipeg’s MTS Centre currently has the NHL’s smallest capacity.
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