The Islanders plan to submit a bid to the state to build a new hockey arena at Belmont Park, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Friday, marking the first public confirmation of the team’s stadium strategy.
Saying that the Islanders “are reviewing their options,” Bettman also mentioned the land next to Citi Field in Willets Point as a potential landing spot for the Islanders and added that the renovated Nassau Coliseum is “not a long-term option.”
“Yes, there is an RFP [request for proposal] for Belmont and I know they are going to participate in that,” Bettman said of the Islanders. “I believe that everyone thinks there is a terrific opportunity there, if not at Willets Point, to create a more hockey friendly environment for the Islanders, which is something Scott [Malkin] is committed to do.”
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Sources have said the Islanders have been talking with the owners of the Mets about teaming up on the development. The Islanders are being advised by the Oak View Group, a sports arena development company backed by Madison Square Garden.
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The operators of Barclays Center plan to pitch the Islanders on a return to their former home, according to Kevin Law, the president and chief executive of Long Island Association, the region’s largest business group.
But Bettman said Friday he doesn’t see the Coliseum as a possibility for the Islanders. “I don’t know if it’s a short-term option,” he said, “but I know it’s not a long-term option.”
A spokesman for Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, who has lobbied the Islanders to return to the renovated Nassau Coliseum, said he had no comment on Bettman’s remarks.
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