There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home.
For Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz,” home was pretty straightforward, as she wanted to go home to Kansas. For the Islanders, home has been a bit more complicated since 2015, when they left the Nassau Coliseum, which had been home since 1972, for the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It was supposed to be an “iron clad” 25-year lease for the Islanders in Brooklyn, but not many people really bought into that.
There was still hope and that hope turned into reality in 2017 when a deal was reached to build a new arena at Belmont Park. To set the stage for their return to Long Island, the Islanders made a part-time return to the Nassau Coliseum in 2018 and then played their entire home schedule at “The Barn” during the 2020-21 season, their absolute final season in Uniondale.
Call it a yellow brick road or a long and winding road or whatever, but the wait for a new arena and a permanent home on Long Island is finally over for the Islanders and their fans: UBS Arena is set to open on Saturday for the home opener against the Calgary Flames.
“It will be state of the art,” said Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz. “It will be the gold standard until someone else builds a new arena. I think it’s going to be a crown jewel not only for the Islanders but also the area and our fan base.”
From the time that the Islanders broke ground on UBS Arena in September 2019, fans have been able to monitor the progress of the arena construction through photos and video posted on social media, and then ultimately via a live web cam that was set up. The players, coaches, and staff also paid close attention to the progress, with some of them even getting a tour from time to time.
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But there were some players that just wanted to wait to see the finished product.
“I haven’t had a tour,” said forward Mathew Barzal. “I’m so fired up to get going in this new rink. I can’t wait to get inside and hopefully get a practice or two before (the opener. I can’t wait to get down there…I haven’t seen too much on social media. I’m trying to surprise myself a little bit.”
For all of Islanders Country, the Nassau Coliseum will always be a special place.
“The Barn” was home for the team’s beginning in 1972, and it was where four straight Stanley Cup banners were raised from 1980 to 1983. There were good times there and there were also some bad times, but at the end of the day, it was finally time to say goodbye and close the door on that part of Islanders history. The banners and the memories have moved 7.4 miles west on Hempstead Turnpike to Elmont, where the franchise and the fan base hope to make some new memories.
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The Islanders plan on winning a lot of games there, but there will also be an opportunity for the community to embrace the new building, as well as the planned development on the Belmont Park campus including a hotel and retail space. UBS Arena is the centerpiece of the development and it’s going to be a destination point for the fan base and a sense of pride for Long Island.
“It’s going to be a beautiful place to come to,” said Trotz. “I think it’s going to be spectacular. You’re right at the racetrack. I know there’s one spot where there’s a restaurant that looks over the paddock. How great is that? That’s a summer time thing. Hopefully it’s open year-round.”
But for now, the focus for the Islanders will be finishing up their season-opening 13-game road trip and coming home to get ready to take the ice at their new home. The team is hoping to get a practice or two in before opening night on Saturday, to get the chance to have a feel for their new surroundings.
Compared to what they had in terms of amenities and facilities at Nassau Coliseum, the fans, players, and coaches are going to feel like they’re in a whole new world at UBS Arena.
“I can’t wait to see our dressing room,” said Barzal. “It’s going to be unreal. My mom was telling me on the radio she was hearing that it’s going to be one of the nicest buildings in the world. That just speaks for itself. I can’t wait.”
Neither can all of Islanders Country!
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