Interesting news coming out of the NHL and Brooklyn, NYC. The New York Islanders will play a game against the New Jersey Devils at the new Barclays Center on October 2, 2012. Scheduling of a pre-season game between to finically strapped franchises is hardly news, but we have to consider this move by the Islanders as a test of a new arena, with the very real possibility of them leaving their long time home the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
There are a lot of issues to look at here. The Islanders desperately need a new home. They play in the second oldest facility in the NHL, and their lease only gives them the opportunity to make money at the gate. Meaning their only major revenue streams are the TV deal and ticket sales. Unlike other teams they generate no revenue from parking or concessions.
Of course the Barclays Center only sits 14,500 fans. That would make it the smallest NHL arena, even coming in behind the MTS Centre in Winnipeg. However, the Islanders only draw around 12,760 fans (current year attendance) per home game. So playing in a smaller arena with more access to revenue could be an ideal fix for a team that has lagged behind others finically.
Of course at this point this is all conjecture. The Islanders are locked into the Nassau arena until 2015, and all attempts to get a new building constructed on Long Island have failed. We will have to sit back and wait to see how this ne plays out.
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