Newsday on Belmont arena: yes, 2021 best-case scenario; unspecified state funds will support full-time LIRR service
A recent Newsday article by Jim Baumbach, Analysis: Islanders’ Belmont arena expected to take 3 years to open, concludes that the planned Belmont arena likely won't open before the 2021 hockey season.
Indeed, I wrote that earlier, relying, as did Baumbach, on statements at a 12/21/17 board meeting of Empire State Development (ESD).
What Baumbach added notably were comments from Islanders’ c-owner Jon Ledecky on WFAN regarding full-time rail road service:
Unmentioned by Newsday: as I reported, the state hasn't done a market study regarding the arena's prospects.
Still unclear: where the Islanders will play in their 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. The candidates are the Barclays Center and the Nassau Coliseum or, perhaps, some combination of both.
From the LI Herald: nine figures for LIRR?
The Long Island Herald, in a 1/16/18 article headlined Can Arena Partners do it? Yes and … maybe, noted that "estimates for the Long Island Rail Road link alone run into nine figures," plus potential costs to widen streets or upgrade parkways.
"It’s also unclear whether tax revenue from the stadium would flow into public coffers, no matter what valuation is placed on the land," writes Timothy Denton. "Those funds could be used to help pay for the development itself in the form of PILOT bonds. PILOT bonds, or payment in lieu of taxes, allow private developers on public land to apply tax assessments in exactly this way, according to an analyst at Moody’s Investor Services."
Indeed, I wrote that earlier, relying, as did Baumbach, on statements at a 12/21/17 board meeting of Empire State Development (ESD).
What Baumbach added notably were comments from Islanders’ c-owner Jon Ledecky on WFAN regarding full-time rail road service:
“There’s money in the budget according to the governor and his people,” Ledecky said. “We have to make sure that money gets spent and that station becomes a vital part of the community, not just when there is horse racing and not just when there is a concert or a game. All the time, 365 [days a year], 24 hours a day.”That number is not specified, and state and Long Island Rail Road officials wouldn't add details
Unmentioned by Newsday: as I reported, the state hasn't done a market study regarding the arena's prospects.
Still unclear: where the Islanders will play in their 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. The candidates are the Barclays Center and the Nassau Coliseum or, perhaps, some combination of both.
From the LI Herald: nine figures for LIRR?
The Long Island Herald, in a 1/16/18 article headlined Can Arena Partners do it? Yes and … maybe, noted that "estimates for the Long Island Rail Road link alone run into nine figures," plus potential costs to widen streets or upgrade parkways.
"It’s also unclear whether tax revenue from the stadium would flow into public coffers, no matter what valuation is placed on the land," writes Timothy Denton. "Those funds could be used to help pay for the development itself in the form of PILOT bonds. PILOT bonds, or payment in lieu of taxes, allow private developers on public land to apply tax assessments in exactly this way, according to an analyst at Moody’s Investor Services."
Indeed, if the land is tax-exempt already, don't expect PILOTs to go to the public rather than the project.
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