Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, commonly known as the Nassau Coliseum, and branded as NYCB Live: Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum for naming rights reasons, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York. The Coliseum is approximately 7 miles (11 km) east of the eastern limits of New York City on Long Island.
Opened in 1972, the Coliseum occupies 63 acres (25 ha) of Mitchel Field, site of a former Army and Air Force base. The facility is located in the Town of Hempstead, within the Uniondale 11553 ZIP code. The Coliseum is used for sporting events, concerts, large exhibitions and shows as well as trade shows--44,000 square feet (4,100 m2) at the main arena, 60,000 at the Expo Center. In 2015, the arena was temporarily closed for a major renovation which was completed in April 2017.
The arena was the home for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1972 to 2015 and the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1972 to 1977; both teams currently play at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. In 2017, the venue became the new home of the Brooklyn Nets' NBA G League team, the Long Island Nets.
Video Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Sports
The Coliseum originally had a capacity of 13,000 to 15,000 depending on the event, and in the early 1980s the maximum capacity was increased to around 18,000. Before closing for renovations in 2015 the Coliseum seated 16,170 for hockey, up to 18,511 for concerts and 17,686 for boxing. Those renovations resulted in drastically reduced capacities: 13,900 for hockey, 16,500 for basketball, but still 18,511 for concerts
The Coliseum was home to the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association, and later the National Basketball Association, from 1972 to 1977. The first event at the Coliseum was a Nets game against the Pittsburgh Condors on February 11, 1972.
The Nets won two ABA Championships in the Coliseum, with Hall of Famer Julius Erving headlining the team. In 1973-74 the Nets defeated the Utah Stars in 5 games to capture their first title. The Nets then captured the final American Basketball Association Championship in 1976, defeating the Denver Nuggets in 6 games. Following the 1976 season the Nets joined the National Basketball Association as part of the ABA-NBA merger. After their first season in the NBA, the Nets moved to New Jersey. The New Jersey Nets played four seasons at the Rutgers Athletic Center before completion of a new arena at the Meadowlands Sports Complex.
In NCAA Division I men's college basketball, the Coliseum hosted the ECAC Metro Region Tournament organized by the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) in 1978, 1979, 1980, and 1981. It also has hosted first- and second-round games of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 1982, 1994, and 2001.
The New York Sets of the World TeamTennis league played their first match at Nassau Coliseum on May 7, 1974, and won the WTT championships in 1976. The team changed its name to the New York Apples for the 1977 season, and began playing at Madison Square Garden and the Felt Forum and repeating as champions.
On February 8, 1983, the arena hosted the 35th National Hockey League All-Star Game, during which Wayne Gretzky scored four goals in the third period and was honored as the game's most valuable player.
On February 24-25, 2006, the Coliseum hosted the 44th NYSPHSAA Wrestling Championships. It was just the third time the annual event has been held on Long Island. Selling 17,755 tickets over three sessions, it broke (and still holds) the NYSPHSAA wrestling tournament attendance record.
On April 25, 2015, the final Islanders game at Nassau Coliseum was held, Game 6 of their first round playoff series against the Washington Capitals. The game was won by the Islanders 3-1, forcing a Game 7 in Washington. Islanders' Nikolay Kulemin scored the final NHL game-winning goal at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum at 10:33 of the third period, a wrist shot against Braden Holtby. The Islanders' Cal Clutterbuck scored the final NHL goal at the Coliseum, an empty net goal that put the Islanders up 3-1 at 19:07 of the 3rd period. However, the Islanders were denied entry into the second round of the playoffs as they lost Game 7 of the series to the Capitals in Washington two nights later, thus making Game 6 the final major-league sporting event held at the Coliseum.
The arena has hosted WWE Raw and Smackdown events many times and was a mainstay of the WWF/WWE for over 30 years. One notable event was on the October 12, 1998 edition of Raw is War when Stone Cold Steve Austin drove a cement truck into the arena, and filled Mr. McMahon's $50,000 Chevrolet Corvette with cement. On August 25, 2002, WWE hosted SummerSlam (2002) at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the first time that SummerSlam had been held in New York City and not at Madison Square Garden. On May 25, 2015, Chairman of the WWE, Vince McMahon, announced in an address to the crowd before its flagship show Raw that it would be the final WWE event at the Coliseum. WWE returned to the arena after renovations with the April 10, 2017, edition of Raw.
On November 5, 2015, the Nets announced their new NBA D-League team, the Long Island Nets, would play at the renovated Coliseum starting in 2017 (the team played their first season at their parent team's home, the Barclays Center).
In February 2018, the Coliseum hosted the New York Open, an ATP 250 men's tennis tournament replacing the long-running Memphis Open.
Seating capacity
The seating capacity for hockey during the life of the arena has been:
- 14,665 (1972-1973)
- 14,865 (1973-1976)
- 15,317 (1976-1978)
- 14,995 (1978-1980)
- 15,008 (1980-1981)
- 15,230 (1982-1983)
- 15,850 (1983-1984)
- 16,002 (1984-1986)
- 16,270 (1986-1987)
- 16,297 (1987-2001)
- 16,234 (2001-2009)
- 16,250 (2009-2012)
- 16,170 (2012-2015)
- 32,362(2017-present)
Maps Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Entertainment
Concerts
Elvis Presley performed 4 sold out concerts at the Nassau Coliseum on June 22, 23 & 24, 1973. His last Coliseum appearance was on July 19, 1975. Six days following Presley's death, a summer tour was scheduled to begin at the Coliseum on August 22, 1977. Tickets for the show have become collectors items. David Bowie performed a radio broadcast from there during his 1976 Isolar Tour, in support of the album Station to Station. A heavily circulated bootleg of the concert saw official release in 2010 as part of the Station to Station Deluxe Box Set. Queen played at the Coliseum in February 1977 during their headlining US tour. The band used footage of their performance of "Tie Your Mother Down" in the song's promotional film.
Billy Joel has a "retired number" banner hanging from the rafters, along with those of Islander greats, to commemorate his many sold-out Coliseum shows. His "retired number" is 69. One of Joel's concerts from his 1982 tour at the Coliseum was recorded for a 1983 HBO concert special and VHS release, Billy Joel: Live From Long Island.
Redevelopment
The Coliseum was the second-oldest arena in active use by a National Hockey League team (after nearby Madison Square Garden), and until the return of the Winnipeg Jets to the league at the 15,004 seat MTS Centre in Winnipeg, was the smallest arena in the NHL by total seating capacity. The arena has been considered obsolete for many years, and various Islanders owners tried to replace it.
The Lighthouse Project
Team and county officials announced in 2004 a plan called The Lighthouse Project to renovate the Coliseum. The project's centerpiece was a 60-story tower that would look like a lighthouse. Other plans included new housing, athletic facilities, a minor league baseball stadium, restaurants, and a hotel. The project would also add trees, water and other natural elements to the area.
On August 14, 2007, Islanders owner Charles Wang and the Lighthouse Development Group partnered with Rexcorp to create a new plan. The 60-story "lighthouse" evolved into two 31-story buildings connected by a footbridge at the top. The project was transformed from a simple renovation of the Coliseum property into a 150-acre (0.61 km2) transformation of surrounding properties. Plans called for more 2,000 residential units (20% affordable housing), a hotel, a convention center, a sports technology center, 500,000 square feet (46,000 m2) of retail space, and a sports complex next to the renovated Coliseum. The overall project was slated to cost roughly $3.75 billion.
Construction was not planned to begin until at least mid-2009. Nassau County approved the Lighthouse Project in 2006 on a 16-2 vote, and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement was completed after a state-mandated environmental review. The Lighthouse Project was then expected to go before the Town of Hempstead for approval on a change in land zoning. However, the approval was never granted. After the October 2009 deadline passed, the Long Island Press reported the Lighthouse Project's cancellation. Wang has denied the report.
In May 2010, Mets COO Jeff Wilpon had discussions with Wang about constructing an arena for the Islanders near Citi Field. Wilpon has also discussed buying the Islanders. In June 2010, the FanHouse website reported Jeff and Fred Wilpon, the owner of the Mets, began working with real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle (who also worked on Madison Square Garden's latest renovation) on a feasibility study of a new Islanders arena in Queens. However, a source from Newsday indicated the FanHouse report was not true. There were also reports businessman Nelson Peltz wanted to buy the Islanders and move them to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
2011 proposal to replace arena
On July 12, 2010, Town Supervisor Kate Murray (R-Hempstead) announced an "alternate zone" for the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum property that downsized the Lighthouse Project to half its proposed size and made the project, according to Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano and the developers, "economically unviable for both the developer and owner of the site." As a result, Wang, Mangano and the developers decided they would no longer pursue the project.
On May 11, 2011, the Islanders and Nassau County executives announced that county residents would vote on a referendum for approval of a $400 million public bond issue for a new plan to replace the Coliseum. The plan, including the construction of a new $350 million arena as well as a $50 million minor league baseball ballpark nearby, was presented by Wang as a last-ditch effort to keep the Islanders on Long Island. However, voters in Nassau County rejected a proposal by a 57% to 43% margin on August 1, 2011.
On October 24, 2012, the Islanders announced the team would move to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn after their lease expired at the end of the 2014-2015 season. The Islanders played their final game at the Coliseum on April 25, 2015, beating the Washington Capitals 3-1 in game 6 of the first round of the playoffs against the Washington Capitals forcing a Game 7, held in and won by Washington, ending the Isles' run at the Coliseum; in Game 6 Cal Clutterbuck of the Islanders scored the final NHL goal in the building, an empty netter at 19:07 of the third period.
Renovation
Not long after the Islanders announced their move to Brooklyn, Forest City Enterprises, the owner of Barclays Center, was chosen to perform a study on development possibilities for the Nassau Coliseum site. A request for proposal was issued as a result of this study to transform the arena into a smaller sized venue and its surrounding parking lot into an entertainment hub with theaters, sports bars, and retail.
Four competing proposals were submitted in May 2013, and Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano selected two finalists in July 2013, including one from a group led by Forest City Ratner. Ratner's proposal called for a reduction of the Coliseum's capacity to 13,000 seats and a revamp of the arena's interior and concrete facade designed by SHoP Architects, the firm which designed the Barclays Center, which would cost the group approximately $89 million. As part of his bid, the Islanders would play 6 games per season in the arena, the Brooklyn Nets would play one exhibition game, and a minor league hockey team would call the arena home.
On August 15, 2013, Nassau County announced Forest City had won the bid for the renovation of the Nassau Coliseum and the surrounding property, pending approval from the Nassau legislature and zoning changes from the Hempstead town government. The Nassau legislature unanimously approved the bid on September 24, 2013.
Billy Joel performed the arena's final pre-renovation concert on August 4, 2015.
On April 5, 2017, a Billy Joel concert was the arena's first post-renovation event. Other acts that will perform during the new Coliseum's opening week include Stevie Nicks, The Pretenders, Idina Menzel, Lionel Richie, Mariah Carey, and Marc Anthony. Bruno Mars and New Kids on the Block have also been announced.
On November 4, 2016, it was announced that Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment had reached a naming rights deal with New York Community Bank. The deal with the county mandates the inclusion of "Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum" in the arena's name. The cost of the naming rights and the agreement's length were not disclosed.
On January 14, 2017, it was announced the closing Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus would perform their last show at the renovated Nassau Coliseum on May 21, 2017.
On June 15, 2017, the New York Islanders announced that they would play a preseason game against the Philadelphia Flyers on September 17, 2017, which would be their first appearance at the Coliseum in nearly two years.
Belmont Park arena and possible Islanders return
In late January 2017, Bloomberg News reported via internal sources that Barclays Center was considering dropping the Islanders due to poor attendance and their effects on the venue's profits. The venue has received a poor reception as a hockey arena due to poor sight lines and ice conditions, as Barclays was primarily designed as a basketball arena. Newsday reported that Nassau County executive Edward Mangano had met with Ledecky, and he told the paper the Islanders could return to the renovated Nassau Coliseum. These reports were further elaborated by Long Island Association president Kevin Law in April 2017, who stated that Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment (who manages both venues) was preparing to offer a relocation plan to the team. Law felt that the alternate option of seeking a new arena in Belmont Park was redundant to the renovated Coliseum. The Islanders played a preseason game at the renovated Coliseum on September 17, 2017. The Islanders' lease of Barclays Center is up for renegotiation, and the parties have until January 31, 2018 to opt-out of their current, 25-year lease.
The renovation project reduced the capacity of the arena to 13,000, a level which was believed to be unsustainable for an NHL team; in comparison, the Islanders' average attendance at Barclays is 12,059, the lowest in the NHL (Barclays Center is the second-smallest arena in the NHL based on seating capacity, with 15,795--which is around 400 seats fewer than the Coliseum pre-renovation). As such, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman felt that returning wasn't a "viable option" for the Islanders, but noted that the team was "in the process of evaluating what makes the most sense for the franchise and particularly for their fans."
In December 2017, New York Arena Partners (a venture of the Islanders, Oak View Group, and Sterling Equities) won a bid to construct a new, 18,000-seat arena and mixed-used district at Belmont Park, beating a competing proposal by New York City FC for a new soccer stadium. The new arena is projected to be completed in time for the 2021-22 season.
In January 2018, Islanders owner Jon Ledecky revealed on WFAN's Boomer and Gio that he had toured the renovated Coliseum with Bettman and other senior NHL officials. They assessed that the Islanders could play a limited schedule of home games at the Coliseum, but that it wouldn't be sustainable as a full-time venue because of its capacity and diminished amenities over other newly-built arenas, such as an insufficient number of corporate suites. On January 23, 2018, it was reported that Barclays Center was pushing for a short-term lease under which the Islanders would split their home games between Barclays Center and the Nassau Coliseum until the Belmont Park arena is completed, with the number of games at the Coliseum steadily increasing for each year of the arrangement.
Gallery
References
External links
- Official website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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