The county has sought the help of developer Bruce Ratner in saving the Nassau Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum. Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano announced that Ratner’s development group will release a plan for the Coliseum by the middle of 2013.
As he has shown at the amazing Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the home of the Brooklyn Nets and the future home of the Islanders, if anyone can do this right, it’s Ratner.
At a recent press conference, Mangano said, “While several Hub development plans have been proposed over the years and failed, the good news is that Bruce Ratner… will build the road map so the Coliseum is positioned to compete for concerts, family shows and expositions, as well as professional and collegiate sports.”
Now that the Islanders are leaving, we’re not sure what sports franchises are available to make the new Coliseum work, but we think it’s only fitting that Nassau County build an exposition and concert facility comparable to the Barclays Center.
After complaining that he wasn’t consulted, Nassau County Legislator Wayne Wink (D-Roslyn) raised the athletic event issue. He said he hoped county officials would remain open to redeveloping the Hub without a sports arena, in light of the Islanders’ departure.
“Because the Islanders are no longer part of the equation, it provides the county the opportunity to revisit whether an 18,000 seat arena is viable or even necessary for the future development of the Hub,” he said.
After the original proposal by Islanders owner Charles Wang went down in flames because voters refused to approve a $400 billion bond, it is incumbent upon Mangano and Ratner to come up with a plan in which the remodeled coliseum will eventually pay for itself without adding to the burden of taxpyers.
If that can happen we think the residents of Nassau County would welcome the building of a state-of-the-art that will ensured that Nassau County will become a destination second to none.
That, of course is easier said than done.
