Nassau County officials announced last week that a deal was struck with Nassau Live Center LLC to take immediate control of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum as its new tenant.
The Coliseum, known for hosting hockey games, concerts, circus shows and other entertainment events, shut its doors in mid-June due to the increased amount of debt accrued over the past five years.
Officials said the agreement with Florida developer Nick Mastroianni II will allow the county to recoup the unpaid rent accrued over the past several years by the Coliseum’s former leaseholder, Mikhail Prokhorov. Prokhorov, a Russian billionaire and owner of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, accrued more than $2 million of unpaid rent owed by Prokhorov’s Nassau Events Center LLC.
The county issued a notice of default to Nassau Events Center LLC and its parent company, Onexim Sports and Entertainment Holdings, in mid-July to pay off $2 million in payments for the Coliseum and a surrounding 72 acres of land known as the Nassau Hub.
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said both parties were on a “fast track solution” to keep the Coliseum’s doors open for future events.
“This deal follows rigorous negotiations and fulfills my main objectives – forging a path forward for sustained Coliseum operations and keeping us on track to redevelop the Nassau Hub,” Curran said in a statement. “We are pleased to have ensured a swift transfer of the lease to a new tenant eager to resume Coliseum operations and partner with us on Hub redevelopment.”
The county, as part of the agreement, preserved its 2019 Development Plan Agreement with the Coliseum’s new tenant and developer RXR Realty to transform the currently paved Nassau Hub.
County officials granted Nassau Live a “standstill period” of 60 days with a potential 30-day extension to provide a more comprehensive plan for sustained Coliseum operations and a request for rent adjustment under the lease. The county agreed not to issue any notices of default for a lack of rent payment under Nassau Live.
In 2015, Mastroianni’s company U.S. Immigration Fund oversaw a $100 million loan for the renovation of the Coliseum from 200 Chinese investors. This was made possible through a federal program that provides people with visas in exchange for financing projects that create domestic job opportunities. The immigration fund is not an organization affiliated with the federal government.
“Our plans are to take control, further the development plans with RXR [Realty] and work with the county to reactivate the arena,” Mastroianni told Newsday. Efforts to reach Mastroianni for further comment were unavailing.
Curran, an Islanders fan, previously expressed disappointment in Onexim deciding to surrender its lease. Last week said she was encouraged that Nassau Live stepped in to preserve the team’s chances of playing a final season in the Coliseum before beginning a new chapter at newly named UBS Arena, which is currently under construction at Belmont Park.
“We’ve made sure our Islanders can come home to Nassau for one final season at the Barn while continuing all the momentum we’ve built with our community partners on a reimaged Hub that would drive our economy and benefit our residents for generations to come,” Curran said. “Our vision for the project as a live-work-play destination anchored by a medical research and innovation district is even more important now, following the COVID-19 public health crisis.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who broke ground at UBS Arena last fall, also expressed approval of the deal between the county and Mastroianni.
“This announcement reminds us that the Islanders – and the Barn – are part of Long Island’s DNA, and will be for years to come,” he said in a statement.
The Islanders are up 1-0 over the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round of the National Hockey League playoffs.
