Islanders May Build Hockey Arena In Queens With Mets’ Help

22 July 2016

After a bumpy first season at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the Islanders are talking with the owners of the Mets about building a hockey arena next to Citi Field in Flushing, according to Bloomberg, which did not cite anyone by name. The talks have been going on for months.

A move to Flushing would be an audacious maneuver by the Islanders’ new owners, Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin, who took over from Charles Wang on July 1. The negotiations could be a way for Ledecky and Malkin to accelerate discussions on hockey-related improvements at Barclays or a path to leave Brooklyn for a location in Queens that might be more lucrative and a bit closer to the team’s longtime former home, the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale.

The report of the Islanders’ talks with the Mets seemed to surprise a spokesman for Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, which manages the Nets and Barclays Center. “Last week, Jon Ledecky said to the media and later to fans at a town-hall meeting that ‘Barclays is our home,’” said Barry Baum, the spokesman. “Any other questions should be addressed to Islanders’ ownership.”

The Islanders and the Mets declined to comment. Sterling Equities, the holding company for the Mets, is working with the Related Companies to redevelop the Willets Point area adjacent to Citi Field.

The Islanders’ first season at Barclays was far from perfect as the team tried to persuade its fans to travel west to a new arena in a different county. It is small by league standards. And it was built for the Nets as a basketball arena; when configured for hockey, there are obstructed-view seats. Players complained about subpar ice conditions. Train schedules from Long Island were inconsistent early in the season. Attendance averaged 13,626 a game, 28th in the league, and below the 15,334 average for the final season at Nassau Coliseum.

 

Source : nytimes.com