The long and winding road is almost over.
For the Islanders and their fans, the quest for a new arena has lasted decades. Over the course of multiple ownership changes, any proposed plan for a renovated Nassau Coliseum or a new arena to be built next to “The Barn” came and went. Whether it was the failed “Lighthouse” project that would have transformed the Coliseum into a modern arena or the public referendum for a new arena that would have been built next door in the parking lot that was voted down by Nassau County residents, the Islanders hit roadblock after roadblock.
But, following the Islanders’ move to Brooklyn, a proposal to build an arena next to Belmont Park was born. That triggered a temporary return to Nassau Coliseum, but come November 20, it will be a new era and a whole new world for the Islanders as they play their first game at UBS Arena against the Calgary Flames.
“This is going to be one of the best buildings in the world,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman during last Thursday’s UBS Arena Summit at Belmont Park. “The commitment that has been made, not just to the Islanders, but to the building is nothing short of sensational. It assures that the Islanders will be a strong franchise forever.”
As construction nears completion, the Islanders will start the 2021-22 NHL season with 13 straight road games. The building is on schedule to be finished in time for a private concert for charity on November 19, followed by the Islanders’ home opener the next night. Most of the seats in the arena are in place, the scoreboard has been constructed and is being tested (unlike Brooklyn, it will actually hang over center ice), the dasher boards have been installed and the process of making the ice has started.
Very soon, UBS Arena will be open for business.
“We’re working overtime,” said Tim Leiweke, the Chief Executive Officer for Oak View Group, one of the partners in the arena project. “We’re working Saturdays. We’re working Sundays.”
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And then, on Sunday, November 28, UBS Arena will have its first concert open to the public.
“We’re going to take the hottest artist in the world and he’s going to finish his North American tour for this building, specifically to open up the building to music,” Leiweke said. “This building is going to be ready.”
Leiweke wouldn’t divulge who that artist is, but right now Islanders Country is focused on being entertained by the likes of Anders Lee, Mat Barzal, Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, and the rest of a core group of players that have been to the NHL’s final four in each of the last two seasons. The fan base has been through a lot over the last three decades, but the direction of the franchise certainly changed when the team was purchased by Scott Malkin and Jon Ledecky.
They brought in President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello along with Head Coach Barry Trotz, and were some of the driving forces behind the proposal for UBS Arena, a building that is a dream come true for the team but also for the fans.
“Islander fans are spectacular and, in the end, any team is all about and only about the fans,” said Malkin during a rare public appearance at the UBS Arena Summit. “The owners are stewards for the community trust. The team wins because of the fans. The arena is for the fans. In the end, that’s what this is about. Islander fans deserve what is going to be a state of the art third-generation arena.”
The Nassau Coliseum was a great place to watch a hockey game and it will always have a special place in the hearts of Islanders Country. But, as far back as the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, it was clear that there was a need for a new building. Following the Stanley Cup dynasty, there weren’t a whole lot of winning seasons, and the uptick of losses coupled with the sheer abuse of the fan base led to thousands and thousands of empty seats. You could call it apathy, but the reality is that the fans were there and they just needed a reason to come to the games.
It was a myth that the Islanders fans base wasn’t strong. The reality was that they were just getting tired of getting kicked in the teeth.
“There’s always been a lot of media commentary about the Islanders and should they even be here and do they have fans?” said Bettman. “This is a team that has great fans. The emotional connection that this team has on Long Island in particular, but also in the metropolitan area as a whole, is sensational. There is a fan base of Islander fans that isn’t just alive and well…it’s substantial, it’s vibrant and it’s exciting.”
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How excited is the fan base about UBS Arena?
All you have to do is look at how tickets are selling, especially season subscriptions along with premium and suite sales.
“We’ve got five times more season ticket holders than three years ago,” said Malkin. “We have a widespread tri-state area fan base. The Islanders stand for authenticity and integrity. The building will be wonderful.”
Wonderful is probably an understatement.
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UBS Arena is going to have every modern amenity that you can possibly have in a new building. But in accomplishing that feat for the fans, along with having the best possible facilities for the players, coaches and staff, the feel of the arena is going to make a hockey game at UBS Arena feel similar to the spectacle that was Islanders hockey at Nassau Coliseum. It’s a modern building with 17,113 seats for hockey, a capacity of 18,853 for concerts, and a million square feet inside the walls, but the ceiling of UBS Arena is going to be only a few feet higher than the roof at the Coliseum.
From the huge lower bowl to the last row in the building, it’s going to be noisy, and that could make for quite the home ice advantage for the Islanders – and a large part of the planning has come from Lamoriello.
“Trying to take that wonderful environment that (the fans) created at the (Nassau) Coliseum, Lou has been our guiding force,” said Leiweke. “He doesn’t get a lot of credit here, but like everything else in Lou’s life, he doesn’t want to stand on the podium and take the credit. Lou wants that environment (the fans) created to be the home ice advantage here.”
As the finishing touches are being put on UBS Arena, the parking garage being built in the lot across Hempstead Turnpike is also nearing completion. Once the arena opens, work will soon commence on the rest of the $1.5 billion project, which will include a hotel and a retail complex. That will be spearheaded by one of Malkin’s other business interests.
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“Across the street from this wonderful UBS Arena will be Belmont Village, which will be Value Retail’s first domestic project,” said Ledecky.
As the Islanders get ready to work towards their ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup and hanging a banner on opening night at UBS Arena next season, there are some other perks that could be coming down the road with the opening of a new building. The Islanders have hosted one NHL All-Star Game in their history (1983 at Nassau Coliseum), and over the years, the Islanders had many draft parties at the Coliseum but they never hosted the actual NHL Draft.
All of that is going to change with the opening of UBS Arena.
“At the end of the day, we can bring an All-Star Game here,” said Bettman.
“We can bring a Draft here. This arena and this elevation of the Islanders to their current status of being among the favorites to compete for the Stanley Cup is the consummate team effort which hockey is known for.”
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As long as the NHL is planning on bringing marquee events to UBS Arena, why stop at just the All-Star Game and the Entry Draft? With plenty of modern amenities including a plethora of bathrooms (that was always a negative at Nassau Coliseum), the Islanders’ new home will be very capable of hosting a Stanley Cup Final or two…or four or five.
It’s a whole new world for the Islanders and Islanders Country. It took a while to get here, but the waiting is almost over.
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