OK, if Nassau Coliseum isn't viable for Islanders and opt-out decision comes before Belmont resolution, what next?
He's said it before and it said it again, as Newsday reported yesterday:Nassau Coliseum not an option for Islanders, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says.
“I don’t view the Nassau Coliseum as a viable option,” Bettman said at a news conference. “Ultimately, whether or not the Islanders want to consider that and bring it to the league or something, you’ve had to ask them about it... But my gut reaction is it’s not a viable option.”
Then again, he said his "own belief" was that the metro area could support another arena--something I have serious questions about. The Islanders and their partners--reportedly the MSG-affiliated Oak View Group and the Mets-affiliated Sterling Project Development--are expected to submit an arena proposal for a Belmont Racetrack site by September 28.
That sets up a complicated scenario, Newsday noted, "If either the Islanders or Barclays Center want to opt out of their 25-year license agreement, they are contractually obligated to do so by Jan. 30."
In other words, they may decide to leave--or be pushed to leave--well before a respondent to the Belmont RFP is chosen, much less to get a new arena built. Which means that the Islanders would need a place to play in the interim.
Does that, I wonder, set up a kick-the-can-down-the-road option in which the Islanders and the Barclays Center end their 25-year license agreement but sign a new one, with renewable short-term options?
“I don’t view the Nassau Coliseum as a viable option,” Bettman said at a news conference. “Ultimately, whether or not the Islanders want to consider that and bring it to the league or something, you’ve had to ask them about it... But my gut reaction is it’s not a viable option.”
Then again, he said his "own belief" was that the metro area could support another arena--something I have serious questions about. The Islanders and their partners--reportedly the MSG-affiliated Oak View Group and the Mets-affiliated Sterling Project Development--are expected to submit an arena proposal for a Belmont Racetrack site by September 28.
That sets up a complicated scenario, Newsday noted, "If either the Islanders or Barclays Center want to opt out of their 25-year license agreement, they are contractually obligated to do so by Jan. 30."
In other words, they may decide to leave--or be pushed to leave--well before a respondent to the Belmont RFP is chosen, much less to get a new arena built. Which means that the Islanders would need a place to play in the interim.
Does that, I wonder, set up a kick-the-can-down-the-road option in which the Islanders and the Barclays Center end their 25-year license agreement but sign a new one, with renewable short-term options?
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