Tim Leiweke of Oak View Group, the company overseeing construction of UBS Arena, and Islanders president Lou Lamoriello are happy to be working together on bringing the Islanders’ future home to life.
The two certainly prefer it over working against one another.
Leiweke and Lamoriello, close friends for years, were friendly foes on hockey’s biggest stage nearly a decade ago, when Lamoriello’s Devils met the Kings in the Stanley Cup Finals. At the time, Leiweke was an executive with the Kings, who went on to beat New Jersey in six games, and now, the two continue to collaborate as construction of UBS Arena reaches its final stages.
“Lou and I had the great privilege of competing against each other in the Stanley Cup Finals, and we had been long friends before that,” Leiweke said. “We have a bond between us. I had dinner with him last night. He’s my best friend in the business and I am glad we are building this dream with Lou, for Lou, and for those players.”
Lamoriello has helped bring the Islanders back into steady contention, reaching the second round of the playoffs in his first season and into the conference finals last year. This year, they have their sights set on another deep run with a 29-13-5 record, and come next year, they will be able to greet their fans in a brand new home in Belmont Park, and Lamoriello and Leiweke’s fingerprints will be all over the new building.
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“The closest person I have in this industry is Lou Lamoriello,” Leiweke said. “He’s here because of me and I’m here because of him. Lou wouldn’t have been here without this, and I wouldn’t have been here without Lou. Lou and I see the world exactly the same.”
Leiweke is overseeing the contruction of UBS Arena (and the future home of the expansion team, the Seattle Kraken), but Lamoriello has had a direct hand in parts of UBS Arena’s makeup as well.
“Lou was very involved in the locker rooms,” Leiweke said. “It’s a mirror image of Northwell [Ice Center, the Islanders practice facility in Long Island]. Our Northwell facility and the locker rooms here have a lot of similarities, because Lou felt that was important. When you look at the size of this locker room for 42 nights plus playoffs, it’s pretty awe-inspiring. That was him. He designed all of that.”
Aside from the locker rooms, the arena itself is largely in the hands of Leiweke, while the construction of the team that will inhabit the arena is left to Lamoriello. Both will come together in November when UBS Arena opens its doors, and will be the product of a shared friendship between previous rivals. This time, the two hope to celebrate a Stanley Cup together, with Lamoriello’s Islanders celebrating inside the arena Leiweke helped bring together.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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