Brooklyn Boro

Islanders’ Belmont bid reportedly in works

Relocation From Brooklyn Picks Up Steam as Request for Proposal Process Begins

August 1, 2017 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle
The Islanders, tenants of Downtown’s Barclays Center since 2015, may be on their way to Belmont Park as reports indicate that they are preparing a Request for Proposal for the land adjacent to the Elmont, N.Y., racing facility. AP Photo by Bryan R. Smith
Share this:

Divorces can get very messy and even a bit nasty.

The one between the New York Islanders and Downtown’s Barclays Center has been moving along quietly and without a hint of animosity.

That’s probably because the parting, whenever it finally comes, will be a mutual one.

The Islanders, eager to get out of their lease agreement at Barclays Center after only two seasons here, are reportedly set to begin putting together a Request for Proposal to say goodbye to Brooklyn and hello to Belmont Park.

As of Monday morning, Empire State Development officially opened its ears to hearing RFP’s for the land adjacent to the Belmont Park racing facility in Elmont, N.Y.

It’s a spot Islanders co-owners Scott Malkin and Jon Ledecky covet, though neither will say so until the first shovel is dug into the ground of what they hope will be a sparkling new hockey arena for the Brooklyn-based NHL franchise.

Originally announced as an “iron-clad 25-year agreement,” the Isles’ deal with Barclays has an opt out for the team following the upcoming 2017-18 season, and one for the arena after the 2018-19 campaign.

One way or the other, this divorce is going to happen.

The Islanders have not been happy with the playing conditions at Barclays, complaining about the shoddy ice, which may have played a factor in team captain John Tavares’ hamstring injury during the team’s late-season playoff push.

Tavares, a free agent following next season unless the Isles can lock him up to a long-term deal this summer, is the team’s most valuable asset and would like to have an idea of exactly where he is going to be skating before signing back with the team that drafted him first overall back in 2009.

The Barclays, and especially arena owner Mikhail Prokhorov, are not happy about having to dole out more than $50 million per year to the Isles, as per terms of the original agreement.

That sounds like irreconcilable differences that can only be reconciled if the Isles find a new home within the next two years, something they fully intend to do if you believe the various published reports regarding Malkin and Ledecky’s desire to wave bye-bye to Brooklyn.

The Isles’ average home attendance figure of 13,101 last season, approximately 2,000 short of maximum capacity, ranked 28th in the 30-team NHL, nosing out only Arizona and Carolina, not exactly traditional hockey hot beds.

Obstructed-view seating and an entire section down by the ice where there is not a single seat to be found have played a role in cooling the fan fervor Barclays executives and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman were hoping for when the Isles left their original home, the Nassau Coliseum, following the 2015-15 season.

The Barclays clearly has no intention of renovating its facilities to create better seating opportunities and ice conditions for its newest tenants as the arena was built with the Nets in mind, not the Isles.

Undergoing a face-lift would force Barclays to shut the arena down in the offseason, costing them countless millions in revenues as the facility wouldn’t be able to host the various concerts and boxing events that have thrived here since opening with a Jay-Z show back in September of 2012.

The newly renovated Coliseum and Willets Point, home of the New York Mets, were both brought up as possibilities for the Isles’ re-relocation.

But Belmont Park appears to be where the Isles are headed, if, and when, Malkin and Ledecky’s bid is made official and accepted by Empire State Development.

“Yes, there is a [request for proposal] for Belmont and I know [the Islanders] are going to participate in that,” Bettman said to the AP editors in New York back in April.

“I believe that everyone thinks there is a terrific opportunity there, if not at Willets Point, to create a more hockey friendly environment for the Islanders, which is something [Malkin] is committed to do,” he added.

Until then, the two sides will remain silent yet steadfast in their desire to part ways, amicably, and most importantly, profitably.

Isle Have Another: The Isles recently announced that they have agreed to terms on a one-year, two-way (NHL/AHL) contract with 26-year-old forward Connor Jones, who made his debut with the team last season, appearing in four of the final five games during New York’s playoff push. He also played 58 games with AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers, piling up five goals, 14 assists and 89 penalty minutes …  The Islanders will play a nationally televised game against the Montreal Canadiens on NBC Sports Network on Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m., as per NBC Sports Group, which released its regular-season national slate this week.

 

Subscribe to our newsletters


Leave a Comment


Leave a Comment