Islanders, Nassau County announce lease agreement

[TheClevelandHockey]

I asked him what that "Nexus" line was all about, and he said it's basically their frequent crosser's line, where the locals get advanced screenings from both countries, and they basically show their passports and cruise on, instead of being stopped and asked about every single detail about why you're entering their country.

I would think that the season ticket holders would simply apply for that Nexus line, so that they aren't delayed too much when going to/from games.

There's a little more to it than that, but this is essentially the case.

That sounds like an awesome idea.

I'm sick of going to 35+ Monsters games every year and getting stuck in line because I have a pound of metal (or so you'd think) in my pockets all the time.

[IceCap]

Anyone up for plan B: Moving the Islanders to Brooklyn?

That would be a possibility, but they're building the Barclays Centre to be basketball exclusive.

[Gothamite]

Just to confirm, the BC could accomodate hockey, but it would knock the seating capacity down to 14,500. Which means that even if they sold out every game, the Brooklyn Islanders would only move up three spots on the attendance chart, from 30 to 27, between Anaheim and Columbus.

[Lee.]

BUT if they market it and promote it like Winnipeg did, and emphasize that it's a hot ticket and price it as such, then they're in business.

It's a longshot, but it could happen. Hell, Florida tarps off the upper deck to create an intimate, 14,000 seat atmosphere; the Brooklanders just need a marketing team that can work with that.

[pmoehrin]

Well, that failed.

It never had a chance. Anyone who knows anything about Nassau county politics could have told you that.

I'm actually surprised the vote was as close as it was. I was expecting a double digit defeat which may still happen after they count up all the votes.

Fully expect to start hearing even more rumors about Charles Wang selling the team. Don't think this was any more then a last ditch effort to keep the Islanders in the Coliseum and if this didn't work they were/will be gone.

Also, the vote was non-binding. In NYS there does not need to be a vote to float a bond of this type. Really, it could be argued that the vote was nothing more than to see what the support was and to say to NIFA that the majority of county residents support this so you should allow the county to do this. However, considering the impact on the property tax rate in arguably the county in the US with the highest property taxes there is no surprise that it failed. The surprise is in the support it did get. Once again Wang proves he's got no PR sense.

That was the more detailed reason why, but that pretty much sums it up.

[Gothamite]

BUT if they market it and promote it like Winnipeg did, and emphasize that it's a hot ticket and price it as such, then they're in business.

The difference is that True North doesn't need to make money on tickets, they're an anchor tenant for the arena. And the Barclays Center already has one, meaning that the Islanders would definitely be the second tenant in that building.

Not that it can't happen - hell, I'd love to be able to walk home from a hockey game - but it seems far less than ideal.

[Lee.]

Valid points one and all, and the Isles rested on the income from their insanely lucrative TV deal far longer than they should have. But I'd like to think that if they moved to the BC, there's gotta be at least ONE PR agency in New York City that can polish that turd into something at least resembling a middle of the road franchise again.

Step one, granted, is getting rid of Garth Snow, but things can happen for the Islanders again.

[TBGKon]

BUT if they market it and promote it like Winnipeg did, and emphasize that it's a hot ticket and price it as such, then they're in business.

It's a longshot, but it could happen. Hell, Florida tarps off the upper deck to create an intimate, 14,000 seat atmosphere; the Brooklanders just need a marketing team that can work with that.

True, but Winnipeg has no competition in their market. You're talking about a team that has two NHL franchises in the same market already.

I think the best course of action is for Wang to relocate or sell-off and let the new owners relocate.

[Gothamite]

He's got to go, but I don't know about relocation; I suspect that a great deal of the problem lies with Wang himself. After all this time, he's so toxic that I'm surprised he even got 43% of Nassau County to agree to give him money.

[yh]

I suspect that a great deal of the problem lies with Wang

You sound like my urologist.

And when I say "urologist" I mean, of course, "wife."

[Coast2CoastAM2006]

so is this the islanders version of 'Here we go again?"

[Still MIGHTY]

[HedleyLamarr]

Besides winning 4 Cups nearly 30 years ago (and all the nostalgia that goes with that), is there really a good reason as to why the Islanders should stay put in New York?

They're already a distant third as far as hockey fandom goes in New York City, and they've been a terrible team for a vast majority of the last 20 years. Even if they somehow get their act together, they'll still be the third choice for hockey in the NYC-area.

They would be a lot better off in a hockey-less market than playing third-fiddle in New York....

[The_Admiral]

Besides winning 4 Cups nearly 30 years ago (and all the nostalgia that goes with that), is there really a good reason as to why the Islanders should stay put in New York?

1) Even a share of the New York market is still larger, more hockey-mad, and more valuable than mid-sized markets in the rest of the country. There's more money to be had there than Kansas City.

2) Having a team in Long Island does wonderful things for several teams' travel budgets. Those are three de facto home games a year for New York and New Jersey. Three day trips for Philadelphia. Two short trips a year for Boston, Buffalo, and Washington (Washington is the farthest of those teams and yet the distance is about equal to Houston's closest counterpart, Dallas). Subtract Long Island to add Houston, Kansas City, or Seattle, and lots of teams will see their air miles, and thus their expenses, go way up.

[HedleyLamarr]

2) Having a team in Long Island does wonderful things for several teams' travel budgets. Those are three de facto home games a year for New York and New Jersey. Three day trips for Philadelphia. Two short trips a year for Boston, Buffalo, and Washington (Washington is the farthest of those teams and yet the distance is about equal to Houston's closest counterpart, Dallas). Subtract Long Island to add Houston, Kansas City, or Seattle, and lots of teams will see their air miles, and thus their expenses, go way up.

I can't really buy this part of the argument. If travelling expenses were really a factor, Eastern Conference teams would only make two trips to the New York City metro area and play all three of them in one swing, instead of the six seperate trips the Thrashers made to New York City last season.

Despite all outward appearances, the NHL is a top-tier professional sports league, and teams can certainly afford to add a few airline expenses to their budget.

[The_Admiral]

I'm sure teams play two or three of the New York teams when they can. It's tough to coordinate schedules across three separately managed buildings.

[HedleyLamarr]

I get the point about arena availability, but I also believe that if travelling expenses were that much of an issue, the entirity of the league would be taking lengthier road trips and having extended homestands to cut down on expenses.

[The_Admiral]

I don't think it's that teams are outright struggling to pay for their charters so much the teams in or near New York are quite happy with the circuit as currently constituted and would prefer not to spend more money traveling if they don't have to, which they don't, because the Islanders are more valuable in New York than they are anywhere else. And maybe we will see longer trips and homestands in the coming years, you never know. It wouldn't be a bad idea to avoid hopping back and forth if you can help it.

I think the solution is to build an admittedly spartan arena in Suffolk County or Queens on the LIRR. Nassau is such a political minefield that it's done. You don't have to build an architectural marvel here, just build as cheaply as possible (not that I want it to start cracking in the first year, hi, Yankee Stadium) with rail and expressway access. Someone is going to make it happen; the Isles are too important to lose.

[Gothamite]

(The Islanders are) already a distant third as far as hockey fandom goes in New York City, and they've been a terrible team for a vast majority of the last 20 years. Even if they somehow get their act together, they'll still be the third choice for hockey in the NYC-area.

I'm not entirely sure that's true, except in as far as the Islanders have been terrible for most of the past several decades.

If the Islanders were even somewhat competitive, I could see them easily becoming the second team in the city. Especially if they move to Queens or Brooklyn.

[Mac the Knife]

Coyotes to Kansas City.

Islanders to Quebec or Houston.

Either that, or contract 'em both.

Gary Bettman's probably wishing he had Jim Balsille to kick around some more right about now...