Last week we reported on a high-stakes meeting in which some of New York’s most successful entertainment developers came to Long Island to discuss the future of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The meeting included Barclays developer Bruce Ratner and Madison Square Garden Company CEO Hank Ratner. They were also joined by Jay-Z and Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano.
“It will all work together in a remarkable way,” said Ratner, who compared the project’s importance to Nassau to Paris’ Eiffel Tower and the Staples Center in Los Angeles. “That’s the vision we want to show.”
There was enough hot air at this meeting to launch several large balloons.
Their proposal includes a renovation of the arena’s facade and concourse, a performance area that would reduce seating to 1,700 from 14,500, and the relocation of a professional sports team – either the WNBA’s New York Liberty, the New York Rangers’ minor league affiliate or the New York Knicks’ D League squad – to the Coliseum.
The county needs to carefully review the numbers to see if they work. Would these minor league teams pay for an arena that went broke when it was the home of the Islanders?
We doubt it but …
