Only one day after the New York Islanders played at Nassau Coliseum, Brett Yormark says that the Islanders and Barclays Center are having “conversations.”
Don’t believe everything that’s on #islestwitter, folks.
The day after the Islanders preseason win against the Flyers at Nassau Coliseum—you know, the game that shouldn’t have even taken place in that building—some interesting news bits surfaced from Newsday‘s Randi Marshall on Twitter:
While it isn’t feasible that the Islanders return to their former home, the particular piece that caught my eye was that Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark stated that he’s ready to make improvements that he says are “doable”.
It’s unclear whether he’s referring to the Coliseum or the Barclays Center, but odds are Yormark is referring to the highly criticized ice surface at the Barclays Center. It’s no secret that the ice at the Barclays Center is far from ideal, and while the same goes for other arenas across the NHL, Barclays has fallen under consistent scrutiny.
However, it seems that adjustments may be more feasible than initially thought. Despite conflicting reports surfacing earlier this offseason, it seems that Barclays Center is prepared to make adjustments that will help preserve an Islanders-Barclays Center relationship.
Even the NHL commissioner, Gary Bettman, has a history of inconsistency when it comes to addressing major team news. Remember, the Islanders were never going to return to the Coliseum at all. So in reality, who knows what the future has in store? The best that can be done for now is to carefully evaluate every credible bit of news.
Earlier this year we reported that the Islanders and Barclays Center had begun negotiations on a new deal. For the first time since then, news has broken once more that both sides are talking before the Islanders opt-out window this coming January.
The supposed plans for the Islanders’ future are likely as follows:
If the RFP for Belmont is approved, and then the subsequent proposal is officially approved and put into action, the Islanders will have a couple choices.
They could either play at the Barclays Center in the meantime, agreeing to a new, shorter deal with the arena after opting out of their current deal. Or, they could completely opt-out of their deal with the Barclays Center, and possibly play for a few seasons at the Nassau Coliseum until construction is complete on the Belmont arena.
The latter is a very unlikely scenario, but again, they were never supposed to return to the Coliseum in the first place.
If you’d ask me I’d tell you that the Islanders will be at the Barclays Center for the next seven or so years until the Belmont bid is approved. Maybe I’m sampling a little too much Kool-Aid, but with the support that the Islanders’ Belmont bid has (James Dolan, Fred Wilpon and the OakView group) it’s hard to imagine a scenario where the proposal is scrapped.
So as the season approaches and as the Islanders play into what could be their final year at the Barclays Center, pay very close attention to the Elmont representatives on Twitter and check out local happenings around the community. If anything will help spell the Islanders future, it will come from there.
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