Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

It's not necessarily new, but an 8/19/23 New York Post interview with former New York Islanders General Manager turns up some frustrated feelings about the team's ill-fated and temporary relocation to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. “If [owner] Charles [Wang] didn’t go to Barclays Center, the Islanders wouldn’t have remained on Long Island," Garth Snow said, referring to the failure of Nassau County voters to approve a new arena project, known as Lighthouse. "But logistically it was a hot mess.” So they moved in 2015-16 and got some buzz, but saw fans alienated by the commute, the lack of parking (and tailgating) and arena managers' willingness to mess with traditions, like a goal horn and the opportunity to watch practice up close. So the team moved back to the downsized Coliseum for two seasons before the new UBS Arena was built. From the Post: “I think our winning percentage was pretty good at Barclays,” Snow said jokingly. “Maybe the opposing team was having...

Every new arena gets a bump in ticket sales, and that's true for the New York Islanders' new home, with capacity 17,113 for hockey. But it's still difficult to drill down on the specifics behind promotional statements. A press release 8/25/20,  Ticket Demand Booming for New York Islanders' Inaugural Season at UBS Arena at Belmont Park , stated that only 20 percent of season tickets "remain available for the inaugural 2021-22 NHL season," that the team expected "to be sold out of premium inventory by early next year," and that "more than one-third of its suite inventory [had been sold] in the last two weeks. As I wrote 8/26/20, Sports Business reported that the team had sold nearly 10,000 season tickets for the debut 2021-22 season, compared with 3,500 two years ago, in a season split between the Barclays Center and the Nassau Coliseum, and nearly 7,000 last year, when more games were shifted to the Coliseum. The number now is unclear, but the ...

A few choice quotes/details in the 9/16/20 Long Island Herald article,  Construction continues on Belmont arena, one year after groundbreaking : “We’re taking the best features of Nassau Coliseum” while improving on the aspects that fans didn’t like about the “old Barn,” Jon Ledecky, co-owner of the team, said in an interview with the Herald after the second period of Sunday’s NHL playoff game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, adding that the Coliseum was “past its expiration date” by the mid-1990s. The implication: even after the Coliseum renovation, it wasn't good enough. The design includes more  lower bowl seats, more women’s restrooms, and bars facing the ice.  How many events? Also: The arena will also host more than 150 events a year, and Irving Azoff, chairman of the Azoff Company, which represents recording artists, said in July that he expected it to draw musicians such as Bruce Springsteen, Billie Eilish and Billy Joel.  That implies a total of some 195 eve...

‘MADE FOR MUSIC, BUILT FOR HOCKEY’ , VenuesNow reported 8/6/20, suggesting that the new UBS Arena at Belmont Park, thanks to the much larger footprint than urban arenas, will save money and time for multi-truck concert productions. The arena, scheduled to open in 2021, "sits on 400 acres," according to article, which isn't accurate. But the larger footprint does allow more loading docks and backstage areas “What’s unique about New York is you have an elevator and turntable at Barclays Center that artists have to deal with for tour production,” Tim Leiweke, chairman and co-founder of arena developer Oak View Group, told the publication. “When you have a 24-truck tour like Drake, you’ve got to load in one truck at a time, go down, hit the turntable, spin it around and unload it. In the case of the Garden, you’ve got a ramp that takes you up five levels and you (unload) one truck at a time.” That adds time, and cost, given union expenses. So much for the 2013 stat...

The Athletic’s NBA Arena Rankings: Some buildings are always a spectacle , on 7/8/20 mostly ignored the Barclays Center in the survey of its writers. Despite the team's epic failures and mismanagement, Madison Square Garden won best arena, given the noise and ambiance. Staples Center, home to both the Los Angeles Lakers and (for now) Los Angeles Clippers) also got votes. Interestingly enough, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, home to the Indiana Pacers, won kudos for a loud crowd and "the unique look compared to any other arena in the NBA (outside of maybe Barclays Center in Brooklyn)." Exactly: the Barclays Center's something of a copy, but, unlike in Indianapolis, the tight crowd doesn't add as much to the game. Barclays didn't get mention as either among the best--or worst--arenas. But it did get a mention. Not the best crowd TD Garden, home to the Boston Celtics, won best crowd, followed by the Oklahoma City Thunder's Chesapeake Energy Arena and the P...

So, how did the truncated split season for the New York Islanders work out? As my analysis below shows, though the Barclays Center is larger, in only two of 11 games in Brooklyn did the attendance exceed the capacity of the Nassau Coliseum, while attendance at the latter was higher overall. In Nassau, attendance averaged 12,863, or 97.5% of the 13,917 capacity. In Brooklyn, attendance averaged 12,695, or 80.4% of the 15,795 capacity. There were 28 home games scheduled for the Coliseum, the team's historic home, and 13 for the Barclays Center. Once the coronavirus pandemic stalled the season, 24 had been played in Nassau County and 11 in Brooklyn. If the Islanders were to make the playoffs, all games would've been held  in the smaller facility, closer to the fan base and preferred by the players. A more full arena makes for a better game experience--at least before the pandemic. (This was a switch from 2019, when With the new Belmont area under construction for at lea...

Newsday last night clarified that, beyond paying at least $4.4 million in rent, the operator of the Nassau Coliseum last year paid a total of $6.32 million, including utilities and entertainment taxes. Onexim Sports and Entertainment, according to the article, is expected to ultimately pay the county unpaid rent from February, March and April. It's perplexing to me: yes, the Coliseum doesn't have revenues, but Onexim, owned by billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, has the money. Building on his previous quote , Republican County Legislator Richard Nicolello, the legislature's  presiding officer, expressed doubt about the future of the Coliseum, given the expected compltion of the new Belmont arena, with the New York Islanders as anchor tenant. "You’re going to have a competing arena 15 miles away … ," Nicolello said. "Hopefully, they’ll find somebody to run it, but it’s kind of questionable at this point." More on the Isles When the current season re...

Norman Oder photo The New York Islanders played their last game ever in Brooklyn 3/3/20, with their season cut short by the coronavirus crisis, and the divorce has been a little awkward, despite the goodbye photo on Flatbush Avenue. Others have piled on to the observations, as I cited  4/14/20, that the flaws in the arena and game presentation alienated fans and even injured players, though it kept the team in New York, buying time for that new Belmont arena. Photo from Lou Lamoriello parody account See these articles: The Empire Strikes Back, 3/18/20, Brooklyn Saved the New York Islanders, But It Never Became Home amNY, 3/22/20,  Toxicity aside, Islanders fans should be thankful for Barclays Center stay NY City Lens, 3/14/20,  Brooklyn Iced Eye on Isles, 3/17/20,  Islanders: Barclays Center gets unceremonious end it deserves A few other observations Matthew Benedetti, writing for NY City Lens, captured a culture clash between the Nets and the Is...

Islanders’ ill-fated Barclays Center tenure had big silver lining , the New York Post's  Brett Cyrgalis  wrote 4/13/20, suggesting that the team's Brooklyn sojourn, however "forced," at least prevented the team from moving to beckoning cities (with arenas) like Seattle, Kansas City, or Quebec City. Cyrgalis notes the problems: alien "black and gray" design, too little parking but too much traffic, a long car service ride for players, obstructed views (more than 400, actually), an off-center scoreboard, and "atrocious" ice: Soon it became common knowledge that the pipes used to make the ice were plastic, unsuitable to maintain an NHL-worthy surface. Replacing them with metal would be too costly, both in terms of construction and shutting down the arena for months. Star center John Tavares had his heel dig into the soft ice on March 31, 2017, and he suffered a hamstring injury that ended his season. “That doesn’t happen in other places,” alter...

According to the Barclays Center web site , the arena offers 15,795 seats for hockey, though everyone knows a good chunk have obscured views--surely more than the 400 claimed in 2014. But that wasn't always the plan. As I reported in June 2012, then arena General Manager John Sparks said there would be 18,200 seats for basketball, and 14,500 for hockey, of which about 1,500 would be obscured. That was before the October 2012 announcement that the Islanders would move to Brooklyn. That total for basketball was eventually trimmed to 18,000 and 17,732, while the hockey capacity was expanded. The reason's unclear, but that would've allowed the arena to sell more seats, and to appear more "major league." Proof of 14,500 For a while, though, arena developer (and majority operator) Forest City Enterprises, parent of Forest City Ratner, stuck with 14,500 capacity for hockey. Consider Forest City's annual report  for the fiscal year ended January...

The value of the New York Islanders keeps rising, to $520 million from $440 million, now 18th in the 31-team league, according to Forbes's annual round-up of team valuations. And the team's finally worth more than the 2016 purchase price, despite a history of losses, thanks in part to a general rise in team values around the league. Surely, the future Belmont arena--replacing the too-small-but-beloved Nassau Coliseum, and the awkward Barclays Center--is part of that estimate. The screenshot below indicates an 18% increase in value, a 58% debt-to-value ratio (second-highest in the league), $115 million in revenue, and a loss of $3.5 million in operating income. The big picture Forbes 12/11/19 published  The NHL’s Most Valuable Teams 2019; New York Rangers On Top At $1.65 Billion , by Michael Ozanian, Kurt Badenhausen and Christina Settimi. The Rangers benefit from being in New York City, home to corporate clients. The Islanders not so much, though they're doing ...

Hey, there's a Newsday video published 10/10/19, Islanders fans love tailgating at the Nassau Coliseum , complete with a fans wearing jerseys and even hats advertising the new Belmont arena. About 55 seconds in, that guy, Alex Klein comments, "So, getting to Brooklyn, we obviously have to take the train, there's no tailgating there. There's a couple of bars that we made our home. It just wasn't the same, though. It wasn't the same feel, the same vibe." Thing is, no tailgating will be allowed at Belmont.

New LIRR train station planned for Belmont Park , Long Island Business News reported yesterday afternoon, quoting anonymous sources: Gov. Andrew Cuomo is scheduled to be on Long Island Monday to announce plans to build a new train station to serve the proposed new arena at Belmont Park, sources told LIBN. The station would be located on the Long Island Rail Road’s Main Line just off the north parking lot of the Belmont property, just east of the Cross Island Parkway and west of the existing Bellerose LIRR station. The new station is necessary because there isn't a direct current westbound stop, and the eastbound station is just a spur. The article said station "could be" ready by the time the Belmont arena opens, which is supposed to be fall 2021. Schedules can slip. Here's the key question: It is unclear whether New York Arena Partners, the developers of the $1.18 billion arena, hotel and retail project, will contribute to the cost of the new station, however mo...

The balance for the New York Islanders between the Barclays Center and the Nassau Coliseum continues to work itself out. The team's 2019 preseason schedule will consist of seven games, including home games at Barclays Center, NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, CT, according to a NHL announcement . In 2018, the Isles played four home pre-season games, including two at Barclays, one in Nassau, and one in Bridgeport. Same in 2017 . In 2016, while the Coliseum was being downsized/remodeled, and when the 25-year lease in Brooklyn was presumed to be "ironclad," the team played three pre-season home games at Barclays and one in Bridgeport. In 2015, they played three home pre-season games, all at Barclays . In 2014, after the plan to move to Brooklyn had been announced, they played one each in Nassau, Brooklyn, and Bridgeport. In 2013, before the Brooklyn move was inked, they announced plans to play one game at...

LC: "We must now turn analysis into action and go from a study to a [full-time LIRR] station." Um, who's paying? How much does it cost? #BelmontArena — Norman Oder (@AYReport) May 1, 2019 Apparently the initial headline was tweaked from " with concerns answered" to Curran: some concerns answered; I say yes to Belmont , because, as noted in my tweet, one of the largest concerns remains very much unanswered. (Emphases added) Wrote Curran: The new Belmont Arena represents an influx of over a billion of dollars into our economy, which will create over 10,000 construction and permanent jobs at the new arena – not just for hockey, but also other entertainment and retail. That means new jobs for our residents, which will buoy the communities around the new complex for years to come. The project will turn an under-utilized state park into a major generator of tax dollars, which can be used to support our schools and first responders, and fund key priorities l...

Compared to last year, at least, the Barclays Center stands to have a busy May. The schedule released yesterday indicates three concerts (Cher, Mother's Day Music Festival, Erykah Badu), one boxing event, one New York Liberty basketball game, plus, possibly two Islanders playoff games. The Isles lost their first two games at home, so they'd have to win a couple on the Carolina Hurricanes' home ice . In fact, if they do win the series, there could be more May hockey in Brooklyn. Barclays also announced, with no specifics, five private events: three graduations, one conference, one unspecified. (That unspecified event is the Brooklyn Public Library's fundraiser , "Ball for Brooklyn.") While the Community Notice circulated by the arena does not specify the private events (which is the arena's current--but not previous--practice), the graduations, a web search indicates, include: May 14: Long Island University May 23: NYU Tandon School of Engineering ...

It took until Wednesday for the New York Islanders to know their second-round playoffs opponent, and thus whether they'd have the home rink (so to speak) advantage, and they do. According to NHL.com , the Islanders will play the Carolina Hurricanes, with the first game tonight at 7 pm at the Barclays Center, and the second game Sunday April 28 at 3 pm. Expect crowds--the Long Island-based Isles fans who stayed away from Barclays and preferred the Nassau Coliseum should fill the arena. The schedule: Friday, April 26, 7 p.m.: Hurricanes @ Islanders | NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVA Sports Sunday, April 28, 3 p.m.: Hurricanes @ Islanders | NBC, CBC, SN, TVA Sports Wednesday, May 1, 7 p.m.: Islanders @ Hurricanes | NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVA Sports Friday, May 3, 7 p.m.: Islanders @ Hurricanes | NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVA Sports *Sunday, May 5, TBD: Hurricanes @ Islanders | TBD *Tuesday, May 7, TBD: Islanders @ Hurricanes | TBD *Wednesday, May 8, TBD: Hurricanes @ Islanders | TBD

Now that the New York Islanders have made it to the second round of the playoffs, the home games will be, as planned, at the Barclays Center rather than the Nassau Coliseum, which. as the team-- approved by the NHL--announced in February reflected "that the Nassau Coliseum does not qualify as an NHL major league facility." So why was it at Nassau in the first place? Because the fans wanted it, the operators of both arenas (BSE Global) wanted it, the players probably wanted, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo wanted it. But the league wants Barclays, which has many more suites, when the games are full. Yesterday, Newsday reported  Hempstead asks NHL to schedule Islanders at Coliseum : Hempstead Town Supervisor Laura Gillen requested the NHL relocate the remaining Islanders playoff games to Long Island, but NHL officials said the games will be played in Brooklyn as scheduled. An understandable effort, but not a successful one. After all, the lease between the team and BSE Global requi...

Islanders, arena ownership satisfied with Coliseum, Barclays postseason split , Newsday reported 4/10/19, quoting happy talk from the parties involved in the odd plan for the hockey team to play its first round of games at the undersized Nassau Coliseum and subsequent rounds, should the team advance, at the Barclays Center. The latter has more seats, and suites, but is farther from the fan base and offers a less than optimal fan experience, at least for those with partial view seats. And the ice has had problems. All that has contributed to four years of diminishing attendance, as explained below. While Islanders ownership aim to build a new arena, with partners, at Belmont Park, that won't be due for due for at least two more seasons. BSE Global, which operates both Barclays and the Coliseum, would like games at the latter, thus freeing up dates in Brooklyn and avoiding losses. This year they split games; next year's plan is unclear. The question of competition I'...

Call it a metaphor, perhaps. Lights go out at Barclays, and Vegas extinguishes Islanders , the New York Post reported, citing a 17-minute blackout before the third period last night, when the New York Islanders lost to the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The power's out at Barclays Center, because of course it is. pic.twitter.com/nbwrpSATLG — Ryan Quigley (@RP_Quigs) December 13, 2018 #Isles D Thomas Hickey on lights going out at Barclays Center. “Amateur hour.” But notes both teams had to deal with delay. — Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) December 13, 2018 Note that, after mid-February, all the Islanders' home games will be in the Nassau Coliseum, the undersized/downsized arena closer to their fan base, and which sold out the first two games (13,197 attendance), while drawing fewer than 10,000 people to Barclays in the last three games. The team is supposed to split the next two seasons, during the expected construction of a new arena at Belmont Park, between Barclays and the Co...