Isles set Belmont Park arena

Newsday is reporting a decision on the potential new arena at Long Island’s Belmont Park will be announced tomorrow. The arena now has a capacity of about 13,000 for hockey, less than the 16,170 it had previously and the 15,795 currently at Barclays Center. The team’s development group includes the owners of the New York Mets, and Madison Square Garden.

Since moving into the basketball-focused Brooklyn facility three years ago after a 43-year run at Nassau Coliseum, the Islanders have faced many difficulties including poor ice conditions and bad sightlines for hockey fans.

Originally signing a 25-year lease at Barclays Center, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams showed little remorse over the Islanders leaving.

The site for the arena, to be designed by Populous, sits behind the west end of the grandstand at the 112-year-old track and next to a rail station served by the Long Island Rail Road.

The New York Islanders have been playing in Barclays Center, home of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, since 2015.

Islanders captain John Tavares gives Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Billy Joel custom jerseys to celebrate the team returning to Nassau County.

“I’m happy that they’re coming home”, said longtime fan and Long Island resident Charles Miller, who has attended at least 20 games per season here since the original relocation.

Sharing Barclays Center with the Nets has been hard. He noted that the plan would bring more than 3,100 permanent jobs and 12,300 construction jobs. Islanders co-owner Jon Ledecky has said that there was no “Plan B” if the Belmont bid failed, putting the future of the franchise in doubt. It’s going to utilize this great asset [at Belmont Park] that has been under-utilized for years. A return to Long Island could go a long way in helping the Islanders in retaining the services of their talisman. The Major League Soccer team is partially owned by the New York Yankees. Lately, the Islanders have been slumping, losing five of their last seven games.

After the Islanders lost last night the Sportsnet Stats provided us with an update that isn’t too surprising but it is still gutwrenching to see.

Belmont Park’s south parking lot, located across from the racetrack on the other side of Hempstead Turnpike, will serve as the parking area for the new complex.

The Islanders beat out the New York City Football Club, partnered with The Related Companies, to build on the Belmont land. “We understand the required approvals from all parties involved to make that happen, and are prepared to facilitate any necessary enhancements”.

As for the future of Belmont Park, Dubb said NYRA “would like to work out an extension on our lease and work with designers to take Belmont Park to its highest, best use to promote horse racing and the racing industry”.