A Thought on the latest Wang News

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A lot of Islander fans are excited with the news that Wang has contacted the Rhine Group about selling the Islanders.  However, in my mind if Wang will remain the Islanders majority owner for a long time to the dismay of many.  I believe that it is more likely that Wang is interested in gaining minority partners to add new capital to the team.  This capital would help the organization in many ways, but I believe its main purpose would be to buyout the coliseum lease early.  This would allow for Wang and his partners to benefit form the projected increase revenue Brooklyn offers now.  The only way I see Wang selling the Islanders outright is if someone is will to cover the loses he has suffered while owning the team.  Unless that happens I can't see Wang turning his back on the opportunity to make back some of his money with the new stabilize foundation he created for the team in Brooklyn.   

Wang Might Sell???

The New York Post is reporting that Charles Wang might be taking the first steps in selling the Islanders.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/wang_got_an_island_ers_to_sell_you_fr5G1LnsjlNKje6m8xHezN

Apparently the move to Brooklyn and the Barcalys Center have made the Islanders more attractive and possible for Wang to reach his dream price of 300 million for the team.  I caution fans not to get excited since this is in the early stages and may turn into nothing.

The Isles Need to Start Winning Again!

If the Islanders want to take advantage of their move to Brooklyn like the Nets have done, they need to start winning.  Yes, Brooklyn offers many advantages that Nassau couldn't: like mass transportation, better media exposure, more corporate support, and many other things.  However, none of these advantages will matter unless the Islanders put their focus back on to the on ice product.  Charles Wang is going have to spend money in order to make money at the Barclays Center, since by the time the Isles move there the luster of the new arena, and the new arena smell will be gone.  He did spend money when he first bought the team on players like Alexi Yashin, Chris Osgood, and Michale Peaca, but stopped when he realized their was no finical stability coming anytime soon from Nassau County.  Now that he has that in Brooklyn he needs to spend again, and make winning his number one concern, and in the end he will be rewarded for it.

 

Who is to Blame for the Isles Leaving Nassau County?

Now that we are several months past the announcement that the Islanders are leaving Nassau, I think it is a good time to examine who is to blame.  For me the answer is simple and the blame is squarely on the shoulders of the Long Island politicians.

 The demise of the franchise was set into motion by Al D'Amato.  The former New York Senator was the person that created the worse professional lease between the Islanders, Nassau, and SMG, which put the team in a terrible financial situation. This lease made it impossible for the Islanders to compete in the modern sport climate by giving 2/3 of the teams revenues generated from the arena away to SMG and the county.  There is even a story out their that D'Amato gave the Lighthouse the evil eye, since Wang wouldn't hire his brother.

Thomas Suozzi the former Nassau County Executive also played a role in the demise of the Islanders in their birthplace.  Mr. Suozzi had a plan called 90/10 where he wanted to keep 90% percent of Nassau the same and develop the other 10% to jump start the economy.  This is where the Islanders come in.  Suozzi saw the Hub where the Islanders are located as part of the 10% and saw a mega development as away to get the Isles a new arena without having the county to pay for it.  In theory this is all great, but he made one fatal flaw.  Before setting his plan in motion he never checked with the Town of Hempstead who controls the zoning to determine what would be an acceptable size for the project.  Not involving the Town of Hempstead on the ground level of this idea was a huge mistake all Islander fans saw play out.

We all know what Kate Murray did.  She single handily turned down a 4 billion dollar investment by Charles Wang to jump start the local economy and build the Isles a new arena at the same time.  What some people might not know was that Wang tried to reach out to her during the planning stage of the Lighthouse to understand what he can build.  She denied his request, because she viewed herself as a judge on the project.  Instead of working with a man who wants to put 4 billion dollars into her town and county she turned her back on him.  She also created a zoning that didn't that the feasibility of the developer making money with an arena part of it and then said it is the final zoning.  Great job there!

Jay Jacobs the man who stood in the way of the last ditch effort to keep the Islanders in Nassau.  He started a scare campaign against the referendum to build the Isles a new home.  He called people to tell them if they let this pass their taxes would be raised and that is unacceptable.  One thing you left out Mr. Jacob if the Islanders leave their taxes are going be raised and higher than the $15 that it would of cost them to build the arena.  His great alternative plan that he was forced to give during an interview with Mike Francesa on WFAN was personal seating licenses.  However he said after his victory over the referendum he will be working on alternative ideas to keep the Islanders.  Great job on that alternative idea.

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Ed Mangano is the man who is going have the Islanders leaving Nassau County on his record, but he is possibly the lease responsible.  He was given the arena problem with nearly no time left on the clock with one hand tied behind his back, since NIFA controlled the county's spending.  Sadly he couldn't come up with a plan to save the team, but he did try a Hail Mary with the referendum that if it passed would put pressure on NIFA to seriously consider spending money on an arena.  Sadly it failed and he had little to no other options to save the team.

All of these politicians failure led to the Islanders leaving their birthplace Nassau County, which by all means people can and should be upset about.  However, people shouldn't be upset about Brooklyn or the Barclays Center, since it was the only option for us to keep or team in New York. 

 I much rather be playing here.

        Than here

Or here

Or here

Thanks to this

    

 We can still have this

 

Back By Request: Could the Isles Arrive in Brooklyn Earlier than the 2015-16 Season

Well I am glad to say that we know that our beloved New York Islanders will not leave us, but as one reader asked me could the Isles get to Brooklyn sooner than the 2015-16 season?  In my mind the answer to this is simple and that it depends on the cost.  Nassau is going want to be paid to let the Islanders out of their lease.  So everything will come down to whether or not Wang and Nassau and come up with a price that will make everyone happy.  If Nassau's Comptroller http://rockvillecentre.patch.com/articles/comptroller-nassau-better-off-without-nhl-season George Margos and his fellow politicians really do believe that the county will be better off without the team that shouldn't be so hard.  One may also point to Bruce Ratner the developer of the Barclays Center being involved as a non paid adviser on the future of the Coliseum as a positive sign (or negative depending on your feelings) that the Islanders can go to Brooklyn sooner rather than later.  In my personal opinion the team will be playing in the Barclays Center before the 2015-16 season, but nothing will surprise me when it involves the Islanders and Nassau politicians.      

It should also be noted that SMG will have to be paid off as well to let the Islanders out of the lease.

Let me know what you guys think with the new poll

The Islanders Will Stay in New York Until 2040

Beginning the 2015-16 the New York Islanders will play at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn New York.  This will keep the historic franchise in the local area and bring an end to the over two decade saga of the Islanders arena issues. Here is to the next two decades plus on New York Islanders hockey.

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