Islanders Return Home

Looks like Christmas may have come a little bit early for the fans of the New York Islanders. After having to haul all the way to Brooklyn to go to games at Barclays Center, fans will have a new home to go to. It was announced earlier today that the Islanders won the bid to build an arena on the site of Belmont Park. This will end a rough stretch of play at the Barclays Center, the arena which the Islanders had signed a 25 year lease with to play home games there. The Islanders beat out NYCFC in order to be able to snag the property.

As of now, the exact details have yet to be announced for whats going to happen with the site, or the naming of the arena. As of this moment, the plan is as follows. The Islanders plan consists of an 18,000-seat, year-round arena that would be host to about 150 events each year, according to Jim Baumbach and Stefanie Dazio of Newsday. Along with the arena, 435,000 square feet would be available for retail as well as a hotel and 10,000 square-foot "innovation center." This center will be built with input from residents in the area. Another interesting note is that, in this deal, the Islanders' developers are Sterling Project Development, which is run by the Mets' Wilpon family, and Oak View Group, who is partially funded by Madison Square Garden and specifically deals with arena development. Just found that interesting for the people involved in this project.

Now would it have been nice to just end the whole mess and move back to Fort Neverlose in Nassau Coliseum? Yes it would. Would that be possible right now? Not likely. The fact that they are moving back out to Long Island is a very good thing. It makes travel to games easier for one thing. The biggest thing I can take away from this is how the arena will work for the team. Look, don't get me wrong, I'm happy the Islanders were able to stay in New York being able to play in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center. But lets face the facts, Barclays Center isn't a hockey arena. It tried really hard to be one, but it just doesn't fit the game. Some of the sight lines suck and the ice surface has been viewed by many as one of the worst in the entire league.

Now that the new arena looks like its going to happen, a lot can finally go right for the Islanders. They can actually have an arena that's built to properly watch a hockey game, with some of the best sight lines in the league. They can have a playing surface that won't suck. They can have the vibe that they once had at the Coliseum. It won't be an exact duplicate there's no doubt about that. At least its a step back in the right direction.

The Islanders are heading back out to where they belong. When will it take place, that is to be announced. At least this is a step in the right direction.