Things around the country have been hit hard as of late due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Everybody has been effected in some way, shape or form. Now it has hit NYCB Live, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. With nothing going on since March because of the pandemic, the building has gone silent. And with that, ownership has decided to close its doors indefinitely, until somebody is able to take the building over.
There's been a lot going on around the building over the last number of years, and its frustrating to see what the place has gone through as of late. There have been a lot of ups and downs with the building over the years. The old place was crumbling and falling apart, but became knows as one of the greatest venues in the country to watch a hockey game. When the Islanders were good, it was electric, and very very loud, every single time the team took to the ice. There's really no other way to describe what it was like to try and play there. Once the 2015 season concluded, and the Isles were off to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the Coliseum finally got the much needed repairs and redesign. Two years later, it opened back up for business. It's hosted a lot in that time that its been open since. It was even going to be the home ice again for every home game for the Isles from here on out until Belmont was able to open its doors. Then this happens/
The announcement came down yesterday that billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov's company plans to close the arena while it seeks new investors to take it over and assume the remaining debt. This move not only displaces the New York Islanders, who had planed to play home games at the building until the new Belmont Park arena had gone up, but it also puts the $1.5 billion hub redevelopment project in jeopardy. Now the big question is, where do we go from here?
Well as far as hockey and the Islanders are concerned, this won't really change much. There's no plans as of yet for what the Islanders will do when they can go back to playing games at home rinks next season. however it is known that going to Barclays to resume home games is out, as the team no longer has a lease with the building. Some who follow the situation more closely feel that this is just a power move by Prokhorov to get somebody to take the building over. Its a move that does make sense and I have a good feeling that the building will open up again and we will have games played out of there next season. I'm still holding out hope that we will have somebody take over the building and get games back there next year until Belmont is ready.
With all this going on, hearing the building closed hurts. I've spent many a good nights at that palace for a variety of different reasons. A lot of it was for hockey, as we all know its my favorite sport. But I've also seen plenty of wrestling events there, as well as some indoor lacrosse, arena football and other events. it will always hold a special place for me. Sure, it wasn't quite the same after the place got the renovation, but still it was our home away from home on Long Island. I'd be pretty hard pressed to find anybody on this Island that hasn't seen some kind of event at the old barn. I do have faith that it will come back again and be the place to go for a show like it was before.
But for now, all we can do is hold on to the memories until its time to make new ones in a new place.
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