Report: Nassau Coliseum might get short-term concert bump as pandemic winds down, but (duh) future's not bright

A 12/31/20 article from Newsday, Coliseum will host more concerts in '21, but recovery may lag, study says, suggests that the beleaguered Long Island arena would see a boost in concerts after crowds return after the pandemic winds down, given backed-up bookings at larger venues.

But that short-term gain likely won't be permanent, according to the consultants, Camoin Associates and RMG SportsVentures, hired by the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency to assess the county-owned Coliseum, its future deeply jeopardized by the new Belmont arena.

I haven't seen the 13-page report, but the conclusion seems fairly simple--one that might have been reached in a phone call or two. (Local activist Tammie Williams made a similar point, contending that the consultant was paid "to read and summarize in a 13-page doc the lawsuit and its supplemental docs filed by the community." Newsday reported that this is the first of potentially four reports, costing $68,000.)

Family events would return more slowly than concerts--the article doesn't say why, but perhaps wariness from parents--and it's not clear when the New York Islanders, scheduled to spend the 2020-21 season at the Coliseum before moving permanently to Belmont for 2021-22, would return.

New leaseholder Nick Mastronianni of the U.S. Immigration Fund, who somehow gained control over the lease as agent for the EB-5 investors owed $100 million by previous leaseholder Mikhail Prokhorov, told Newsday, "I can say that there is pent-up demand for a return to normalcy, which includes live events, shows, etc. I would say that Nassau may be better positioned for regional and national shows."

He's not a venue operator. He's a middleman.