[News] New York Islanders may leave Brooklyn for Queens

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Blows my mind how up in arms people get about the limited view seating at the Barclays centre got the Isles. They don't draw enough on a regular basis for it to even come close to mattering. And on top of that I think the non restricted view seats were higher in capacity than the total of Nassau, so really the restricted view seats at Barcleys means nothing.

Them actually building a new arena though for themselves that is built for hockey would be great though.

[Jay Random]

Seating for hockey at Barclays: 15,795, including 1,500 obstructed seats
Seating for hockey at Nassau: 16,170

Yes, the restricted view seats at Barclays mean something.

It also means something that all the angled seats face the scoreboard and not the rink. It's a terrible place to watch hockey.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

So the Islanders are just gonna rotate between the five Burroughs? One each year? Interesting concept.

William S., um... John. I'm blanking on the other 3

[puffnstuff]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

William S., um... John. I'm blanking on the other 3

Edgar R is one

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

Seating for hockey at Barclays: 15,795, including 1,500 obstructed seats
Seating for hockey at Nassau: 16,170

Yes, the restricted view seats at Barclays mean something.

It also means something that all the angled seats face the scoreboard and not the rink. It's a terrible place to watch hockey.

More importantly though:

Luxury suites in at Nassau: 32
Luxury suites at Barclays: 90

Lacking the will to build a proper new arena, the Islanders are stuck in a horrible catch-22. Nassau Coliseum was an absolute ####hole. The Isles needed a new arena far more badly than the Flames or Oilers do. What they got, however, wasn't much better.

[Incogneto]

Originally Posted by puffnstuff

Edgar R is one

Edgar R Manhatten?

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

The area around Citi Field/USTA is just a wreck. When you look out over the right field line at Citi, you get a wonderful view of rusted cars and ugly chop shops. Seriously.

Wow, no kidding. It looks like a 3rd world country.

[troutman]

http://queens.about.com/od/queensalm...ong-island.htm

Question: Is Queens on Long Island?

Answer: Yes. Queens is on Long Island. The New York City boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn are both on the very aptly named Long Island, on the western side of Long Island.

What? But Queens Isn't Really Long Island

Though Queens is part of Long Island, usually when we say something like "they're from Long Island," we mean they're from Nassau or Suffolk counties on Long Island, not Queens or Brooklyn. "Long Island" has become shorthand for Nassau and Suffolk, even though geographically Long Island includes Nassau, Suffolk, Brooklyn, and Queens. (On a related note, there are About.com Guides to Long Island, Brooklyn, and, of course, Queens.)

Long Island is commonly thought of as suburban, whereas Queens is more urban. But as the largest borough of New York City, Queens is a big area and definitely a blend of urban and suburban neighborhoods. Eastern Queens -- areas like Little Neck and Cambria Heights -- have more in common with their Nassau County kin than with neighborhoods in western Queens such as Long Island City or Jackson Heights.

[troutman]

Distance from Citi Field to Nassau Coliseum:

Straight line distance: 13.46 miles , 21.67 kilometers (km)

Driving distance: 22.40 miles , 36.04 kilometers (km)

[Erick Estrada]

What's in this for the Mets ownership? A stake in the franchise?

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

Seating for hockey at Barclays: 15,795, including 1,500 obstructed seats
Seating for hockey at Nassau: 16,170

Yes, the restricted view seats at Barclays mean something.

It also means something that all the angled seats face the scoreboard and not the rink. It's a terrible place to watch hockey.

That's fair. What do they draw on most nights? Both those rinks look pretty empty on regular basis.

Barcleys centre is a fine temporary home for that team. Clearly given the new rumour, they are looking for something more long term elsewhere.

[YYC in LAX]

I am Queens Boulevard

[getbak]

Originally Posted by troutman

Distance from Citi Field to Nassau Coliseum:

Straight line distance: 13.46 miles , 21.67 kilometers (km)

Driving distance: 22.40 miles , 36.04 kilometers (km)

Driving distance from Nassau Coliseum to the Barclays Center is 44.7km.

[Kavvy]

Originally Posted by getbak

Driving distance from Nassau Coliseum to the Barclays Center is 44.7km.

Driving distance from Nassau Coliseum to the Scotiabank Saddledome is 3,887 km - with tolls.

[sureLoss]

Newsday is reporting in addition to looking at Citi Field, the Islanders are in active negotiations to build an arena next to Belmont Park (known for the Belmont Stakes horse races).

http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey...ena-1.12080649

Would move the team back to Nassau County. 20 minute drive from their old arena.

[Table 5]

I think the more they push this stadium back towards Long Island, the better. The Island itself has a population of a large city, and has always had a strong backbone of Islanders supporters (even when they still sucked hard, I met a lot of closet Islanders fans just waiting for them to gain a shred of respectability).

The problem though is that putting a stadium in Brooklyn has probably alienated a lot those fans. It's a different mindset there. Not unlike a lot of Calgarian suburbanites, many Long Islanders are willing to drive long-distances for basic things, but will typically avoid going into the City.

Unless they feel they can make up for lost fans with new ones, I think putting it back into Nassau (or even Suffolk) would have more success than anything in Queens.

[Alberta_Beef]

They should just nuke Nassau Colosseum and rebuild it while the Isles play in Brooklyn

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef

They should just nuke Nassau Colosseum and rebuild it while the Isles play in Brooklyn

I am telling you, go get a decommissioned aircraft carrier and develop the world's first Nuclear-powered Ice-Plant for a floating arena!

Build it and they will....well...if you float it towards them I'm sure they'll get on.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Locke

I am telling you, go get a decommissioned aircraft carrier and develop the world's first Nuclear-powered Ice-Plant for a floating arena!

There are some new cruise liners just going into commission that are big enough and wide enough to contain an NHL arena. The seating area would be a pretty funny shape, but the luxury boxes would be unbeatable.

And hey, if you put the Islanders on board, they can weigh anchor and relocate to any market with a seaport whenever they want. ‘Sorry, Gary, we're the Seattle Islanders until we feel like shoving off again. Tell your boys to redraw the schedule.’

[Iniggywetrust]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

There are some new cruise liners just going into commission that are big enough and wide enough to contain an NHL arena. The seating area would be a pretty funny shape, but the luxury boxes would be unbeatable.

And hey, if you put the Islanders on board, they can weigh anchor and relocate to any market with a seaport whenever they want. ‘Sorry, Gary, we're the Seattle Islanders until we feel like shoving off again. Tell your boys to redraw the schedule.’

More like the Seattle sea-men....I spelt that correctly?