Assuming the report that Mikhail Prokhorov will sell the Barclays Center and Nassau Coliseum operating companies to incoming Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai is true--and there's no confirmation--the question has arisen: why would Tsai want the Coliseum, especially since it's mortally threatened by the expected construction of a new, larger arena at Belmont Park?
Well, surely it's a package deal. And maybe Tsai is so flush he can afford to take some losses?
Or maybe.... as suggested by Eyes on Isles' Bryan Lotto, pointing to (for now, slight) delays in the Belmont plan:
I don't think a Coliseum expansion, though technically possible, is likely. After all, that would surely require the building to be shut down for a period of time, thus cutting into revenues and--assuming the Islanders don't move to Belmont--shunting the team to the much-derided Barclays location.
And Belmont offers (slight) railroad access with the possibility of (expensive) expansion, while the Coliseum doesn't--though bus rapid transit has been proposed as part of a real estate expansion project around the site.
But stranger things have happened in the world of arenas, so don't rule anything out. For now, Long Island Business News reported:
Well, surely it's a package deal. And maybe Tsai is so flush he can afford to take some losses?
Or maybe.... as suggested by Eyes on Isles' Bryan Lotto, pointing to (for now, slight) delays in the Belmont plan:
If Tsai and his ten billion dollars can be convinced to make a major Coliseum investment, an entirely new story may be told in the coming months. That story would be a political win; a permanent New York Islander return to a new Coliseum and satisfying the anti-Belmont contingent.
I don't think a Coliseum expansion, though technically possible, is likely. After all, that would surely require the building to be shut down for a period of time, thus cutting into revenues and--assuming the Islanders don't move to Belmont--shunting the team to the much-derided Barclays location.
And Belmont offers (slight) railroad access with the possibility of (expensive) expansion, while the Coliseum doesn't--though bus rapid transit has been proposed as part of a real estate expansion project around the site.
But stranger things have happened in the world of arenas, so don't rule anything out. For now, Long Island Business News reported:
“Nassau Coliseum is a county-owned property and has a long-term lease with Onexim Sports’ and BSE Global’s subsidiary, Nassau Events Center, LLC,” said Nassau spokesperson Christine Geed via email. “The county has the right to approve any assignment of the Coliseum lease and any change in control of the tenant for five years ending in January 2024. We do not foresee any changes in the Coliseum operator or in the redevelopment plans with RXR and BSE as the master developers of the Hub.”
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