[News] Islanders announce move to Brooklyn in 2015

[vanisleflamesfan]

So the NHL is willing to let a team move into a building that was custom made for basketball, and will likely be kinda crappy for hockey, and sign a 25 year deal to stay in that building.

Is it just me, or can anyone else see the problems coming down the road with this deal?

Sometimes the NHL just makes me shake my head.

[Hockey_Ninja]

If you having team problems i feel bad for ya son. I got 99 problems but a sports franchise ain't one.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Parallex

I can't imagine sections 1 & 31 being enjoyable lower bowl seats.

I can see those being great seats, behind the net and on the glass but elevated. The corners at MSG are a bit like this, the front row is about at top of glass height but pushed back a bit from the glass and the view is excellent. If these are a little tighter they'd be great.

[East Coast Flame]

Name and logo will be unchanged

[valo403]

Originally Posted by vanisleflamesfan

So the NHL is willing to let a team move into a building that was custom made for basketball, and will likely be kinda crappy for hockey, and sign a 25 year deal to stay in that building.

Is it just me, or can anyone else see the problems coming down the road with this deal?

Sometimes the NHL just makes me shake my head.

Please elaborate

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Originally Posted by East Coast Flame

Name and logo will be unchanged

I guess it's only a short drive away. No sense in changing a logo and a name that have pretty decent history behind them.

[vanisleflamesfan]

Originally Posted by valo403

Please elaborate

Given how quickly NHL teams seem to develop a rampant hate for their arenas, and demand that taxpayers build new ones for them, I can see problems with a team being locked into a basketball first arena for 25 years.

[likwid888]

Is this the same venue that the Brooklyn Nets will play at?

[valo403]

Originally Posted by likwid888

Is this the same venue that the Brooklyn Nets will play at?

yes

[valo403]

Originally Posted by vanisleflamesfan

Given how quickly NHL teams seem to develop a rampant hate for their arenas, and demand that taxpayers build new ones for them, I can see problems with a team being locked into a basketball first arena for 25 years.

So this is 100% based on the completely unknown idea that this will be a bad place to watch hockey. I think that's getting more than a little carried away. MSG is a pretty bad place to watch hockey, it seems to have done alright.

[getbak]

First question about the arena size. Bettman says they're talking about adding to the capacity to make it about 15,000, or the same as Winnipeg.

[WilderPegasus]

Originally Posted by vanisleflamesfan

Given how quickly NHL teams seem to develop a rampant hate for their arenas, and demand that taxpayers build new ones for them, I can see problems with a team being locked into a basketball first arena for 25 years.

Wang couldn't even build a rink he'd pay for on Long Island. I don't think anyone in the area will be buying him one any time soon. He's got a great tv deal which makes leaving Long Island an unlikely prospect.

If he's locking in for 25 years he is doing so I'll guess because either he will have the option to leave if a new facility becomes available or he is getting extensive renovations on the building to make it more suitable for hockey.

[getbak]

Wang won't be selling the team. The team name will not be changing.

Wang says they plan to stay in Nassau until that lease is over.

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by valo403

it's not even close to being the same city.

The 28 miles makes it "not even close"... must be some magnificent stretch of pavement.

_____________________________________

Islanders and Yotes:

Both Struggling Franchises
Both were/are in a less then Ideal arena
Both moved/are moving to a new arena
Both new arena's are in relatively close geographic proximity to the last arena such that rebranding was unneeded.

But yeah you're right there's absolutely nothing similer about the two. Nope, nothing at all nadda, zip, zero, zilch.

Originally Posted by valo403

Bang up job.

Thanks! nice to be appreciated.

Y'know I'm not saying that it's a bad idea (I think it's a good idea contingent on terms of the lease and ability of the arena to host hockey) but it says nothing about hte NHL's willingness to move franchises to more profitable locations nor is it even assured to be more profitable. Phoenix was just an example of one franchise that moved into a better arena and saw no vast improvement in it's profitability. Don't know who pissed in your cornflakes this morning but geez.

[vanisleflamesfan]

Originally Posted by valo403

So this is 100% based on the completely unknown idea that this will be a bad place to watch hockey. I think that's getting more than a little carried away. MSG is a pretty bad place to watch hockey, it seems to have done alright.

Originally Posted by WilderPegasus

Wang couldn't even build a rink he'd pay for on Long Island. I don't think anyone in the area will be buying him one any time soon. He's got a great tv deal which makes leaving Long Island an unlikely prospect.

If he's locking in for 25 years he is doing so I'll guess because either he will have the option to leave if a new facility becomes available or he is getting extensive renovations on the building to make it more suitable for hockey.

I don't think that it is unreasonable to suggest that a horseshoe shaped arena might not be the best place to watch hockey. This is supposed to be a professional league, and they are accepting a move into a building where they are clearly second fiddle.

As for renovations, they just finished this place, it is an absolute palace for basketball, it is exactly what they wanted, it cost billions, there is no way they are going to renovate it for hockey, which will be, at best, a second class tenant. For 25 years.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Parallex

The 28 miles makes it "not even close"... must be some magnificent stretch of pavement.

Why don't you just admit you have absolutely no clue what you're talking about. Uniondale, NY is not the same city as Brooklyn, NY. It shares virtually no characteristics. One is a suburban location with poor access, the other is completely urban and has some of the best transit access of any venue in the world. One is relatively low density, the other is among the most densely populated areas in North America. One is virtually inaccessible to the massive population base of New York City for a weeknight game, the other can be reached in under 30 minutes from pretty much anywhere in Mahattan or Brooklyn. Nothing about these two locations is similar.

As someone pointed out above this is the complete opposite of the Phoenix move, treating them as comparable is just plain ridiculous, but keep up the good work.

[SuperMatt18]

There is likely an out clause on the 25 years if Wang can build a hockey specific stadium in the New York area.

The 25 year lease agreement was likely to show Nassau County he was not screwing around and was 100% serious that he would move the team to Brooklyn even if the stadium was not perfect for hockey.

What I see happening is Wang building his own rink close to the Barclays center 5 to 10 years down the line and helping to reinvigorate that area of Brooklyn as was the plan of this initial development.

[vanisleflamesfan]

However, on the plus side with this move: We can consider this evidence that the NHL feels that they will be playing hockey again by at least 2015!

[getbak]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

There is likely an out clause on the 25 years if Wang can build a hockey specific stadium in the New York area.

The 25 year lease agreement was likely to show Nassau County he was not screwing around and was 100% serious that he would move the team to Brooklyn even if the stadium was not perfect for hockey.

In the PC, Wang was asked about that and said it is a firm commitment and an ironclad 25 year lease.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by vanisleflamesfan

I don't think that it is unreasonable to suggest that a horseshoe shaped arena might not be the best place to watch hockey. This is supposed to be a professional league, and they are accepting a move into a building where they are clearly second fiddle.

As for renovations, they just finished this place, it is an absolute palace for basketball, it is exactly what they wanted, it cost billions, there is no way they are going to renovate it for hockey, which will be, at best, a second class tenant. For 25 years.

I don't think it will be the greatest place to watch hockey, but you're projecting that into some sort of disaster scenario where people don't go to games. That's what I think is getting carried away.

What do you think would have been a better choice? Move to KC? Great building sure, but a complete unknown otherwise.