The Nassau Coliseum, known for hosting hockey games, concerts, circus shows and other entertainment events, will shut its doors indefinitely, according to a report from Bloomberg.com.
A spokeswoman for Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, the owner of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and operator of the Coliseum, said Prokhorov is seeking investors to take over the barn’s lease, which includes 13,000 seats and $100 million in debt, according to Newsday.
“We cannot predict or control the actions of other interested stakeholders,” Prokhorov spokeswoman Ellen Pinchuk told Newsday. “However, we remain confident that the Coliseum and the proposed development project represent valuable investment opportunities, committed to the effort to find the right solution to the problems confronting the Coliseum, and hopeful that these efforts will bear fruit.”
Prokhorov’s Onexim Sports and Entertainment holds the lease of the Coliseum through Nassau County. The decision comes three months after the coronavirus pandemic and the announcement that Gov. Andrew Cuomo made that the New York Islanders, who for years called the Coliseum home, would play their 2020-21 home games in Uniondale.
Prokhorov bought a controlling stake in the company redeveloping the Coliseum and building an adjacent retail and entertainment complex in 2015.
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, an Islanders fan, said she was “disappointed” in the decision for Onexim to surrender its lease.
“I was very disappointed to hear this, but I can’t say I was surprised,” Curran said. “Arenas are really taking a hard hit since the pandemic and the coliseum has been dark for months now. Like with everything else, we will regroup, we will find our way forward … We will analyze everything, look at all of the options … and we will recover from this.”
According to Newsday, Curran went on to say she was “encouraged that Onexim is speaking to their lenders and other potential investors and we remain focused on development plans with RXR Realty, a strong and committed partner on this project.”
As of now, the National Hockey League continues to work on finishing the 2019-20 season with a plan that includes 24 teams playing in two cities. Once the season resumes, the Islanders are matched up against the Florida Panthers in a best-of-five game playoff series.
