Of course it’s the Piano Man.
Legendary recording artist and Long Island native Billy Joel will play the final show at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Aug. 4 in closing out an arena set to undergo a major renovation in the next year.
The performance would mark the six-time Grammy award-winner’s first solo appearance at the coliseum since his 1998 world tour, when his nine sold-out shows set the building record for most sellouts in a single year.
Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano announced the concert Friday during a PIX11 news broadcast.
In a statement, he said Joel “represents the years of joy the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum has brought to residents and serves as an exciting reminder of the decades of entertainment our residents will enjoy in the soon to be renovated coliseum.”
The $260 million coliseum renovation, to be overseen by developer Bruce Ratner, would also include the construction of a movie theater, restaurants and stores across the 91-acre East Garden City site.
Nassau Coliseum is set to reopen in December 2016 under the leadership of the Nassau Events Center, the management team that runs the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, which Ratner’s Forest City Ratner firm constructed.
“Billy is the definitive voice of Long Island and has made a lasting impact on his community in so many ways,” said Brett Yormark, Barclays’ chief executive officer, in a statement. “We appreciate having him close out the building in such a fitting way as we prepare to give Long Islanders a spectacular venue with world-class programming and a retail and entertainment destination they will be proud of.”
Joel, who has been inducted into both the songwriting and rock and roll halls of fame and has a permanent monthly residence at Madison Square Garden, also helped close out Shea Stadium in 2008 with Paul McCartney.
Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster, though a special pre-sale for American Express customers ran from Monday through Thursday.
