October 2nd

October 2nd of next preseason the Islanders will be playing the Devils in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center.  This game should be consider as a trial run to see if the Barclays Center can work for the Islanders and the NHL.

The New York Islanders announced they will play the first National Hockey League game at Barclays Center, the new multi-million arena in Downtown Brooklyn, on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012. Ironically, they will play the New Jersey Devils, who moved from the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. to their own arena in Newark, the Prudential Center. The game will also mark the first ever hockey game played in Brooklyn.
“We’re extremely excited to play the first NHL game in the new, state-of-the-art Barclays Center,” Islanders General Manager Garth Snow said in a statement. “We already have some of the most passionate fans in the league supporting our young team, and we are looking forward to expanding our base into Brooklyn.”
Speculation arising over the Islanders relocation has been fierce since Long Island voters rejected a $400 million bond plan to finance a replacement to Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale. With Barclays Center being able to handle an NHL-regulation ice rink, a move to Brooklyn may be easier for the Islanders than building a new arena or rehabbing the coliseum.

 http://www.knickledger.com/2012/01/n-y-islanders-preseason-game-in-brooklyn-stokes-potential-relocation-plans/

The New York Islanders will take on the hated New Jersey Devils just days after the arena’s scheduled grand opening that will feature multiple concerts by the rap mogul Jay-Z.
The Barclays Center announcement hinted of professional hockey in the area’s future, even though just one game is scheduled so far for the Nassau County-based team.
“We feel Brooklyn is an untapped hockey market that offers the Islanders with an exciting opportunity to grow its fan base,” Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark said.
The news of the game was hinted at by Markowitz during an impromptu preview of his State of the Borough address Saturday at the Bay Ridge Community Council’s annual luncheon.
“It would be great to see some hockey at the arena,” the uncharacteristically tight-lipped Beep told us before zipping out of the Bay Ridge Manor on 76th Street, claiming that any official announcements will be made at his annual State of the Borough address tomorrow. “In Brooklyn, there should be an NHL team, no question.”

 http://www.brooklyndaily.com/stories/2012/5/all_stateofboroughpreview_2012_02_03_bk.html

More Meetings for the Hub

According to Newsday Nassau County is going be holding a meeting to determine how they can get state aid to develop the Hub.

“The focus is on what can be done with the entire property so that we can obtain state funding,” Ford said
Deputy County Executive Rob Walker will attend the hearing and speak on behalf of the county. Long Island Association president Kevin Law and Hofstra University president Stuart Rabinowitz, who co-chair the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council, and John Cameron Jr., chairman of the Long Island Regional Planning Council, have also been invited.
Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano is preparing a request for qualifications from potential developers for the Hub property in coming weeks.

 http://www.newsday.com/long-island/towns/long-island-now-1.1732330/hearing-on-nassau-hub-plan-next-month-1.3489497

Hub or Bust for Nassau County

It seems like with New York state and Governor Cuomo supporting a plan to build a full scale casino and convention center at the Aqueduct Raceway the plan for having an entertainment center at Belmont is dead.  Long Island Press just wrote an article explaining that the Belmont Casino and entertainment center is all but done.

  “The governor throwing his weight behind the Aqueduct project means that Belmont becoming a major casino facility is dead,” says Assemb. Fred Thiele Jr. (D-Bridgehampton).

“I’d say it’s pretty much dead,” says Joe Rizza, a spokesman for state Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola). “A casino is not going to be in the future for Belmont. However, we’re still going to look for economic development, but it’s got to be something that both Elmont and the Floral Park communities embrace. Floral Park really wasn’t on board.”
Mitchell Pally, chief executive officer of the Long Island Builders Institute, agrees.
“Obviously it’s going to be much more difficult to do at Belmont what they originally intended to do with the tremendous plans for Aqueduct, but that doesn’t mean that there are not other things that can be done at Belmont,” says Pally. “Duplicating both activities 10 miles apart is going to be very difficult.”
John Durso, president of the Long Island Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, had preferred a casino at Belmont but, he says, “If the governor sees Aqueduct as the place, that’s where it’s going to go. He’s been pretty persuasive in getting things done!”
The growing consensus among the Long Island’s politically connected development community that the plan for a casino at Belmont was “dead” seemed to catch the Shinnecocks off guard.
“Well, we don’t know that, and we don’t have a comment on that at the moment,” says the tribe’s spokeswoman, Beverly Jensen. “We are still evaluating the situation.”
She says she was “sure” that the tribe would “work something out with the developer. I don’t know what, I don’t know when.”
Marguerite Smith, a member of the Shinnecocks and an attorney, says she is more focused on the opportunities to improve the conditions of her tribe presented by the federal recognition.
“We’re working on the health, education and social services needs of our people,” she says, mentioning increased scholarship aid, mortgage guarantees and legal rights in family court. She had nothing to say about the casino negotiations.
Randy King, chairman of the Shinnecock trustees, did not comment for this story. Nor did Gateway Resorts, which is owned by Marion Ilitch of Little Caesars Pizza and developer Michael Malik, who have been involved financially with the tribe’s efforts to gain federal recognition since 2004.
David Calone, Suffolk’s planning chairman, says the tribe should concentrate on their home county if it wants a gambling casino.
“It doesn’t make sense for them to be in Nassau where they will be competing with Aqueduct,” he says.
Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) has said he’s basically open to Cuomo’s plans for Aqueduct, but he still has hopes for Belmont.
“Working with Senator Martins and others, Senator Skelos will continue to do everything he can to achieve the best possible plan for developing Belmont, so we can create good jobs and help the surrounding communities,” ...

http://www.longislandpress.com/2012/01/26/a-shinnecock-casino-at-belmont-dont-bet-on-it/

With the Belmont option gone the only hope for the Islanders staying in Nassau is at the current location.  The question is, what is Ed Mangano's plan that he has teased for weeks by saying he isn't ready to release it yet?  If its the same plan he had after the August 1st failed referendum of finding a private investor, the Islanders fate in Nassau County might be sealed.  The only way a private investor would consider taking on the project with an arena part of it is by increasing the zoning so they could make a profit.  Whoever wants to try that, I offer them all the luck in the world working with Kate Muarry, and he 1950's mindset of suburbia .  Even the people in Mangano's administration are losing faith in keeping the Islanders.

a source in Executive Ed Mangano’s administration said, “It will be a small miracle if they can even get it off the ground and keep the team here.  I really believe the Isles are going to Brooklyn, barring divine intervention.”

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/01/12/gallof-isles-preseason-game-in-brooklyn-tavares-officially-an-all-star/
 Once Mangano releases his plan we should now a lot more about the Islanders future in Nassau County.

Daily News Article

 I found it interesting that in an article mainly about the Nets they threw in the fact the Islanders have been invited to play at the Barclays Center.  This invitation should be consider good news, since it limits the Islanders chances of leaving the New York market all together. 

“We appreciate the first-class hospitality that’s been afforded to us by Prudential Center,” said Yormark, who has also made a pitch to bring the Islanders to Brooklyn. “But we’re very much looking forward to moving to Brooklyn and calling Barclays Center home next season.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/nj-nets-deron-williams-ready-move-home-prudential-center-barclays-center-article-1.1012790#ixzz1kogmO7tz

Bettman Still Believes In Nassau

In a recent article by Newsday Bettman was quoted say that he believes that the Islanders are staying in Nassau and that a deal for a refurbish Coliseum can still happen.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said he would find it hard to believe a deal will not be worked out to replace or refurbish Nassau Coliseum, thus keeping the Islanders on Long Island, before the lease expires in 2015.
"They still have three-and-a-half years to go, Bettman said in an informal session following a news conference here during All-Star Weekend. I find it hard to believe that there wont be a solution to that building situation. Long Island deserves a new building, not just for hockey, but for concerts and family shows and the like. And Ive got to believe the people in charge of those things will tend to it in due course.

http://mobile.newsday.com/inf/infomo;jsessionid=1848F281FBC23B2A3E52.3218?site=newsday&view=top_stories_item&feed:a=newsday_1min&feed:c=topstories&feed:i=1.3486304

General Update

Ed Mangano on twitter reaffirms that keeping the Islanders in Nassau is his top priority

I am asked almost everyday about the coliseum and every day I answer that keeping the Islanders is a top priority. News soon

https://twitter.com/#!/edmangano/status/162533324961742848

The Barclays Center construction is going according to schedule and should be laying down NHL quality rink my March

  Under the construction schedule, seating will start to be installed in another 10 days or so; the scoreboard and other video boards in another month; and the ice rink, suitable for college or NHL games in the middle of March.

 http://www.netsdaily.com/2012/1/27/2751988/arena-interior-starts-taking-shape

Butch and Brian

Butch Goring and Brain Rolston stated in a recent interview that they don't believe the Islanders are going anywhere.

Butch Goring was a centre with the Islanders when the team became a dynasty, acquired in a trade just before the first successful title run. He was there when being an Islanders fan “was the chic thing to be,” and he does not believe in the threat of relocation, be it to Quebec City, Kansas City or any kind of city.
“I don’t even think in those terms, honestly — I just don’t believe that will ever happen,” said Goring, now a colour analyst for the team’s television broadcasts. “There’s too much history. There’s such a great rivalry between the Islanders and the Rangers, and Long Island is a great hockey area.”
According to the statistics maintained by ESPN, though, the Islanders are 29th of 30 NHL teams in attendance, better only than the Phoenix Coyotes. Through 25 games, New York has averaged only 12,741 fans.
“I firmly believe that the Islanders aren’t going anywhere,” Islanders forward Brian Rolston said. “It’s an area that has money. I think our fan support is pretty good. Obviously, we don’t sell out every night, but our fan base is not terrible. With a winning team, I think the Islanders have been, and will continue to be, a successful franchise.”

 http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012/01/24/mike-komisareks-boyhood-new-york-islanders-a-distant-memory/

New Arena Rumor

The quote below is a post from HFBOARDS.  I advise you to take it only at face value.

Breaking news:

According to someone who I can confirm is 150% in the know, Wang is selling to Russian billionaire who will move the Islanders to Brooklyn.

Should be announced by the end of the weekend.

Hate me or love me, you'll love me now.

BTW: You can close the thread, but it is happening. Source told me that he leads a group of investors who will also invest in Islanders. It is HAPPENING

 IslesBeBack
http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/showthread.php?t=1074555&page=10 

This is the third rumor about the Islanders arena situation in two weeks.  At this point of time I believe none of them until a major news source reports one of them.  With this latest rumor I find it hard to believe, because  Prokhorov the Russian billionaire who owns the Nets is is the middle of a presidential election.  Plus I have no clue who this IslesBeBAck guy is and how much he can be trusted.

Nassau Twitter Update

Bettman on weekly radio show: "Nassau County needs...deserves a new arena.". #isles #islesarena

 https://twitter.com/#!/ehornick/status/160149068939657216

Without a doubt Nassau needs a new arena, but the politicians of Nassau deserve nothing with the way the have handle the situation.  They have made a pretty penny on the Islanders, since the 1985 lease and let the team out the dry.  Then they promise Islander ownership the development rights of the hub, but never made sure everyone was aboard and let the town of Hempstead kill that option.  Then this summer Nassau County politicians played political football with the site instead of coming up with a real solution.   

Corporate Sponsorship

In today's sports business world corporate sponsorship plays a key role in determining the success of a franchise.  Just look at how the Knicks were able to weather a decade of losing and stay profitable.

Corporate sponsorship has become an increasingly popular and effective form of marketing
communication technique as shown by the global expenditure on corporate sport sponsorship was reported
as being $US. 17.2 billion in 2001 (IEG, 2001). Sport possesses attributes that attractive to corporate
sponsors and sport sponsorship plays a main role in the revenue of the sport clubs...

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCEQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.easm.net%2Findex.php%3Foption%3Dcom_rubberdoc%26view%3Ddoc%26id%3D884%26format%3Draw%26Itemid%3D187&ei=QnIXT4atC6H20gGmw4TrAg&usg=AFQjCNEyzPeUM8jHk1PTl11AcLA_SC9wdw

This important source of revenue brings in a new question to the Islanders arena issue.  Would a new arena in Nassau or Suffolk be able to bring in the corporate support needed to create the financial stability needed by the team?  One would have to think that the Queens or Brooklyn location would have more corporate support to offer the team, but that is not to say that it can't be done on Long Island Proper. Wherever the arena is on Long Island (Suffolk, Nassau, Queens, or Brooklyn) the Islanders are going need more than high attendance figures and the new amenities that come with a new arena to be financially stable.     

Heartland Project Left Out

It has been speculated by some that the proposed Heartland Project could be a great landing spot for the Islanders.  However, Suffolk County Executive  Steve Bellone failed to mention it as part of the projects he will be focusing during a meeting at a Long Island Association, according to Newsday.  The Heartland project is edging closer to the same faith the Lighthouse Project suffered.  Just like the Lighthouse project Heartland was an innovated development that could of helped Long Island with many of the issues it is facing today.  One has to wonder if Wang or any possible owner would consider moving the team to Suffolk without an development like the Heartland Project. 

Newsday Article: http://mobile.newsday.com/inf/infomo;JSESSIONID=0A4AF6F294BCB99371E4.3216?site=newsday&view=longisland_item&feed:a=newsday_5min&feed:c=longisland&feed:i=1.3454966

A 14,500 Seat Arena May Just Be The Right Size For The Islanders

Some people believe that the new Barclays Center is too small to house an NHL franchise, since it will only house a 14,500 seat capacity for hockey.  However if you look at the Islanders attendance figures over the years that does not seem to be the case.
http://www.hockeydb.com/nhl-attendance/att_graph.php?tmi=7085

The average attendance for the Islanders over their first 39 season (this season is excluded) is 13,000 per game.  That means that the Barclays Center offers over 1,500 seats more than the Islanders fill in a yearly average.  In addition,  the Islanders only averaged a crowed over 14,500 13 times in their first 39 years of existence (1987-88 and 2001-02 were excluded from that stat since the team averaged in the 14,500's), which means the Islanders would have fit comfortably in the Barclays Center for 26 seasons (66%).  Having a smaller arena may actually help the Islanders ownership financially, since it would create a demand for tickets. Especially if the team is competitive, the supply and demand would be in the owners favor, and allow him to make a profit.  Even during the Islanders glory years the team did not average a capacity crowd of 16,234 at the coliseum.    

For the fans that would mean higher ticket prices in Brooklyn if the team is winning, since the demand would be high.  However, I believe many fans would accept that to keep the Islanders in New York and better yet to see them be competitive again.

Twitter Update About Brooklyn

@NetsDaily NetsDaily.com

@DanburyIslesFan the isles article was news to me. 

https://twitter.com/#!/NetsDaily/status/157792527636901888
This article was the first time NetsDaily had heard of the talks between the Islanders and the Barclays Center about a preseason game.  I find that fact a little interesting considering there connections with the people involved with the arena.

incarceratedbob Incarcerated Bob @DanburyIslesFan The Islanders will be moving in State, either Suffolk County or Brooklyn NY ( Preseason game next year is a showcase )  https://twitter.com/#!/incarceratedbob/status/157914281172680704

@BDGallof BDGallof

@danburyislesfan no. its only an option as a temporary home if lease runs out and venue option

https://twitter.com/#!/BDGallof/status/157790074757582848
While Gallof's opinion is a very possible outcome, but I have a different opinion on the issue.  I think Brooklyn could become the permanent home of the Islanders.  I outlined how I thought it would work several times on this blog, but in case you are new I'll do it again.

  Even with the capacity issues of the Barclays Center it can still become a permanent home for the Isles.  In my mind three things need to be in place for this option to happen:
1) Wang/Islanders need to get a favorable lease. 
With most of the big money already divided up, Wang is going have to find a way to get the majority of the Islander game revenues.  Ratner may be interested in giving him such a deal, since they are about 100 dates short of meeting their projections for the opening year of the Barclays Center.
2) Atlantic Yard Development
In order to offset the capacity issues of the arena Wang is going need to become part of the Atlantic Yard Development.  This project could allow this location profitable for Wang.  Again Ratner will be more than willing to let Wang in on this project in my mind.  For one he needs money to start the project.  Also when he sold the Nets he was willing to give Prokhorov an option for 20% of the development.
3) Is already a done deal
Keep collecting one of the best cable deals in all of sports from MSG.

Mangano Says He Has Learned From The Past

I asked Mr. Mangano how is his new rumored plan of an RFQ is going be any different than he search for a developer last August?

Ed Mangano:

We’re not ready to announce our latest initiative, but I can assure you we have learned from everything we have done since taking office. I am working aggressively to achieve a plan that retains the Islanders in Nassau and maintains the tax base the Coliseum provides.

Islanders are playing preseason game in Brooklyn

Breaking: N.Y. Islanders in discussions for hosting a preseason game in the Barclays Center, Brooklyn next season. #isles #nhl

https://twitter.com/#!/BDGallof/status/157506336542822401 

While there has been no movement between the Islanders and Nassau County on a new or refurbished arena, and a clear message has been sent that the team is not presently for sale, more possible routes could open if Brooklyn, Suffolk County or Queens were to make guarantees.
In fact, when asked about the lack of chatter since Aug. 1′s failed referendum vote and how now the county is now looking for developers, a source in Executive Ed Mangano’s administration said, “It will be a small miracle if they can even get it off the ground and keep the team here.  I really believe the Isles are going to Brooklyn, barring divine intervention.”

This could be the first step for a move to Brooklyn, or just another attempt by Wang to get Nassau moving.
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/01/12/gallof-isles-preseason-game-in-brooklyn-tavares-officially-an-all-star/

LI Press Article on Mangano's Plan

http://www.longislandpress.com/2012/01/12/will-new-arena-plan-keep-islanders-on-nassau-ice/

 Mangano said he will announce a new plan soon that would “jumpstart” redevelopment of the arena and the surrounding area while helping the county “retain the Islanders.” He would not release any details but promised it would be “another approach” to redeveloping the area that would meet his criteria that the solution be “privately financed.”

 According to Mangano, the coliseum annually generates roughly $200 million in economic activity now. He would not speculate on whether the proposal he’s working on behind the scenes would satisfy Wang. “Ask him,” he told the assembled reporters.

But Mangano did say that he feels strongly that the site must remain “a sports-entertainment destination” and that the coliseum needs a sports team to be an anchor tenant there.
He said he’d hoped that ambitious plans for the area would have gotten a nod from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Council initiative, which awarded Long Island’s package of projects $101.6 million in December. But neither the arena nor various plans for the surrounding are known as the Nassau Hub didn’t make the cut, in part, state sources have told the Press, because the county’s plans were in the early stages compared to the other projects that were much further along and won funding.
Mangano said that he’d recently met with Long Island Association President Kevin Law and Hofstra University President Stuart Rabinowitz, who co-chair the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council, to discuss how the Hub might get a bigger boost from his Accelerate Nassau Now initiative.

Time will tell how Nassau's plan will workout.

Nassau's New Old Plan

Nassau new plan to save the Islanders is to have an RFQ for the hub. This means that developers will put up proposals and compete for the right to develop the land.  There is still one problem with this plan.  The zoning that Kate Murray created two years ago cannot economically support an arena.  The addition of an arena to anyone ones plan will almost certainly mean that they will take a lost in the project.  Yes the zoning allows for an arena, but who wants to invest into something that will make them lose money.  Unless the town of Hempstead expands the hub's zoning I don't see how it can support the construction of a new arena.  Ed Mangano should make an official announcement by the end of the month

Link to Newsday article: http://mobile.newsday.com/inf/infomo;JSESSIONID=C1A0BA8C749FABCC6255.3203?site=newsday&view=islanders_item&feed:a=newsday_5min&feed:c=islanders&feed:i=1.3442920&nopaging=1

Twitter's Opinions

I figured opinion with all the rumors stirring that I should ask around and see what a few other people heard.

BD Gallof

@danburyislesfan nothing on brooklyn. nothing on queens either. all just conjecture. fact is...no movement or word at all.

https://twitter.com/#!/BDGallof/status/156530961952149504
http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/

 Nick Hirshon

Nothing new on #isles arena situation, @DanburyIslesFan. #nyi #NHL

https://twitter.com/#!/nickhirshon/status/156452473572302848
http://www.nicholashirshon.com/

Seems like its quiet on the the arena front still, but one has to think this issue will come to a head in a few months.

Seattle Is Putting Together A Plan to Bring The NBA And NHL

A Seattle Times article last month reported a plan that the city has to bring NBA and NHL teams to their market.

A wealthy San Francisco hedge-fund manager is the lead investor seeking to build a sports arena south of Safeco Field to lure an NBA basketball team back to Seattle, according to two sources briefed on the effort.


Christopher Hansen, 43, who has roots in Seattle and now heads Valiant Capital Management LLC, in San Francisco, is working with an investor group whose proposal has yet to be publicly unveiled.
Hansen, described by one source as a multimillionaire, could not be reached for comment Friday. He previously lived in Seattle's Leschi neighborhood, public records show.
Hansen is working with a Bellevue man who would like to bring an NHL professional hockey team to Seattle to play in the arena, according to the source, who did not know the name of the Eastside participant.
Both men understand they need each other to make the proposal work, the source said.

 The hockey factor


If built, the arena would add a third professional sports facility in the Sodo area, joining Safeco, home of the Seattle Mariners, and CenturyLink Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Sounders FC.
Many think a new arena would have to offer both professional basketball and hockey to be a viable business proposition.
Seattle has never had an NHL team, though in 1990 a group led by then-Sonics owner Barry Ackerley, who died this year, sought to acquire an expansion franchise, but withdrew its bid.

 Seattle knows the economic impact losing a team can have in a region, and they are looking to replace that lost not only with a new NBA team, but a NHL team as well.  Seattle is a major threat to Islanders fans and their hopes of keeping their team.  At this present point and time (things can change) the three most likely places I see the Islanders landing are Brooklyn, Quebec, or Seattle.

Rumors Are Flying

The past several days rumors have been flying about Wang being in negotiation with local buyers for the Islanders.  At this point the stories are not developed enough for me to buy into, but time will tell if either rumor turns out to be true.

Rumors:
1) An investment group is trying to buy the Islanders and move the team to Queens to play at Aqueduct Racetrack development.

2) A man name Stan believed to be (Stan Winters) a hedge fun guy is in long term negotiations with Wang to buy the team and another of his businesses. In this rumor the team would stay in Nassau in a renovated Coliseum.  (Thanks Matty)

Time will tell if these stories hold any water and if any news outlets jump on them.

BD Gallof"s opinion of the rumor:

Charles Wang, much less any owner with half a brain, would never sell low now when in 2015 (lease end) when Quebec/Seattle/etc in play. https://twitter.com/#!/BDGallof/status/156127220581154817

His website: http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/

 Sadly, I tend to agree with him about these rumors.

Roy Boe's Teams

Sometimes I think the teams Roy Boe founded are cursed at least when it comes to arena issues.  The Nets arena has hit a snag, but it doesn't look like it will delay the project.

The exterior of the Barclays Center will be made up of 11,998 weathered steel panels, none of them like another. The distinctive facade is likely to be the most iconic feature of the arena, but with much of the panels still to be emplaced, the company that manufactures them has closed its doors.

http://www.netsdaily.com/2012/1/3/2680307/arena-facade-manufacturer-closes-effect-on-arena-timetable-uncertain

Who knows maybe reuniting the Nets and Islanders can end both teams curses on the arena front and playing front as well.

Belmont Is On Thin Ice

According to Newsday Governor Andrew Cuomo's plan to build the nations largest convention center at Aqueduct Racetrack could put an end to the Belmont Entertainment Center plan.  The Governor wants to build a 3.8 million square foot convention center in Ozone Park, Queens and have and have Genting the company that built the racino pay for it.  Why would Genting do that?  The answer to that is simple Cuomo plans to make gambling legal and if Genting pays for the convention center they can make their Aqueduct racino a full class three casino.  If this happens this means that there is one less plan to keep the Islanders in the area.      

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's plan to build the nation's largest convention center and possibly a casino at Aqueduct Racetrack would "effectively kill" plans for a Shinnecock Indian casino at Belmont Park , a Long Island state senator said Wednesday.

Cuomo's emphasis on Aqueduct, in nearby Ozone Park , Queens, "would make it less likely that a casino would be viable at Belmont, but certainly opens up all kinds of possibilities for redevelopment," said Sen. Jack Martins (R- Mineola ), who has pushed for a casino or other development at Belmont.

http://mobile.newsday.com/inf/infomo;JSESSIONID=71555F0A088F8529CAB1.3201?site=newsday&view=top_stories_item&feed:a=newsday_1min&feed:c=topstories&feed:i=1.3428996&part=0
Things are starting to look like Brooklyn or bust, but we will find out more in the next few weeks or months if Nassau, Queens, or Suffolk can pull an arena out of their hat and save the Islanders.  If it not it seems like Brooklyn or relocation is the teams only options.

Is Quebec On The Other Line

The Sports Business News, believes that Charles Wang next move is to sell the Islanders to Quebec.  The end of the Islanders organization is a sad and scary possibility.  With the county and New York facing tough economic times the Islanders options are limited.  The one thing that could eliminate this possibility, as this article mentions, is the Coyotes beating the Islanders to Quebec, which is a race that I will gladly lose.  Even if the Islanders avoid Quebec because of the Coyotes move, it still doesn't resolve the arena issue.  The organization needs stability now, and have the rumors of their relocation or folding ended, if they want to get the organization back on track.  The teams' young stars like Michale Grabner, Kyle Okposo, and John Tavares committed to the New York Islanders, not to the uncertainty that plagues this franchise.  If Wang can't get an arena deal done by the end of this new year its time for him to move the team to Brooklyn, and put this issue to bed, or at least sell the team to Ratner (or someone else who would put the team there).  Time is running out, and the outside markets knows it as well.        

The long list of failing non-traditional NHL markets with failed or failing franchises doesn’t include the New York Islanders, who have a murky future on Long Island. The Greater New York area is home to three NHL teams, one franchise too many. Islanders’ owner Charles Wang failed in August in gaining the needed public support (taxpayer dollars) for a much needed new arena. If the NHL doesn’t sell the Coyotes to Quebecor, Wang will try and sell the Islanders to Quebec City interests.

http://sportsbiznews.blogspot.com/2012/01/nhl-in-2012-more-canada-please.html

My View On The Islanders' Arena Situation This Year

During last summer's campaign for the referendum Charles Wang stated the ground breaking for a new arena had to be by June of 2012.  In my opinion the chances of making that date our pretty bleak.  There is no project that is close to ground breaking: Heartland project, Belmont Entertainment Center, or any others that you can think of.  The chances of the county or the state paying (or even helping) for a new arena in this economic climate are slim.  Unless one of the local municipalities come up with an innovated plan that no one have thought of before the chances of the Islanders getting their own arena this year are looking bleak.  The longer the silence goes on from Wang and the local municipalities the more it looks like Brooklyn could be the Islanders only chance for staying in New York. Quebec, Seattle, and Kansas City are all knocking at the Islanders door let's hope this is the year that the Islanders get the commitment they need in New York.

 

AM New York Thinks Islanders Will End Up In The Barclays Center

In an article on important sports dates of 2012, AM New York's opinion on where the Islanders will land was expressed:

Though the Nets aren't scheduled to hit the hardwood until November, Brooklynites will pack the brand new Barclays Center for one of their native sons when Jay-Z plays the first of several scheduled concerts to commemorate the opening of the state-of-the-art arena. The new Atlantic Avenue home of the Nets is expected to seat better than 18,000 for basketball, and don't be shocked if the hockey-ready facility lures the troubled Islanders Downtown eventually.

http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/2012-in-sports-key-dates-to-remember-1.3413605

Even with all the recent new about the Belmont Entertainment Center and the Heartland Project, the Barclays Center is the only guarantee new hockey arena in the metropolitan area. This small fact makes it the front runner still for the Islanders staying in the New York market.

Long Islanders Support the Belmont Entertainment Center