Staff Writer
The New York Islanders time in Brooklyn may be coming to an end. According to Newsday’s Jim Baumbach, The New York Islanders bid to build a brand new 18,000 seat arena In Belmont Park, NY, has been approved by the state. With this successful move , the team will be able to eventually leave the the Barclays Center behind where the organization has been playing since the beginning of 2015. The team has been competing with Major League Soccer’s New York City FC to build a new arena on the Belmont Park property.
The Islanders proposal for the new arena includes an 18,000-seat, year-round facility what will host 150 events annually. It will also offer 435,000-square feet of space for retail space, a 10,000-square foot innovation center and a hotel with 200-250 rooms. The cost for the team’s new arena has not been released yet. New York Islanders majority owner, Jon Ledecky did not say how much the facility would cost but he says it will be financed privately.
“We’re not looking for government funds,” Ledecky said.
Without governmental funds, it is a project that will take a lot of help and lots of money in order to be completed..
Right now the New York Islanders and the Brooklyn Nets share the arena at the Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn. Sharing the arena with the Nets has been difficult. The Islander fans have not shown up in the numbers needed to make the arrangement worthwhile. At an estimated 11,000 fans per game, the Islanders sit last in the NHL for fan attendance. The new arena and features hope to bring in more fans to attend the games.
