Over the past year or so, I had written two posts which were based on the New York Islanders. The first one "Could This Be The End Of Hockey in Long Island" (August, 2011) stated that once the lease at the Nassau Veterans Coliseum would expire in 2015, the Islanders could have been calling for a new home. During this time frame, owner Charles Wang had put out a wonderful idea which would of seen not only a new rink, but a first five star hotel. That was rejected due to the fact that it would cost $3.74 billion dollars. From the time I had written this blog until February this past year, there was much speculation on the future of the team which propelled me to write another blog on them "A Possible Way To Save The New York Islanders?" (February, 2012). In that blog, I made a suggestion stating that with the Barclays Center in Brooklyn opening up, it would make more sense for the Islanders to play there with much smaller attendance.Well sure enough as it was announced last Wednesday, the Islanders will call the new arena their home after the lease expires. It is obviously a great move simply because they will finally have a modernized rink to play. However, there is only one minor issue. As I mentioned in the February blog, their capacity will be the smallest in the league. Unlike the US Airways Center in Phoenix, it will be much easier to put an ice surface on a building that is primarily designed for the NBA. To conclude, Charles Wang and company finally got what they so desperately wanted.
