“Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano wants to turn Nassau Coliseum into a scaled-down arena with 8,000 to 12,000 seats for family shows, concerts and minor league sports.” - Newsday
The latest revitalization plan for the Nassau Coliseum does not mention professional hockey. If Nassau County Executive Mangano’s announcement is any indication, it seems pretty clear that Coliseum goers can calculate the precise day NHL action will come to an end on Long Island.
The latest Coliseum plan
According to a Newsday article published March 12th, 2013, “Mangano’s Coliseum: Scale down, focus on shows,” by Robert Brodsky and Randi F. Marshall, when asked about the future of the aging venue, “Mangano said a ‘right-sized’ arena would attract more shows to the 40-year-old Uniondale facility and will free up space in the parking lot for other development.”
Nassau’s county executive never mentioned replacing the lame duck Islanders, a former NHL dynasty, after the team’s Coliseum lease expires on Dec. 31st, 2015. That seems to be the day when professional hockey will die on Long Island.
Newsday reports, “Mangano released the plan Tuesday in a request for proposals to firms to redevelop and operate the Coliseum and is expected to unveil it formally during his State of the County address Wednesday night.”
The team could run off sooner
As we’ve been reporting for a number of weeks, watch for the Isles to leave the Coliseum much sooner than 2015. Our suspicions have now been confirmed. Newsday quoted County Executive Mangano as saying “there is ‘no deal on the table’ for the team to leave earlier but the RFP allows for the possibility of a ‘sooner termination’ of the team's lease.”
Just wait and see. NHL hockey is probably going to end quicker than you think on Long Island which will be an indelible part of Mangano’s legacy.
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