This Is Home to a Major Sports Franchise ?
This week, I took a trip to Hofstra University to attend a Job Expo. I hate going to Nassau County, because everytime I go, it looks more and more like Queens.... The campus of Hofstra is directly across the road from The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, home of the NHL's New York Islanders. Going from Hofstra to the Coliseum is like night and day.....
Hofstra has a brand new football stadium , baseball field, and two indoor complexes: Tha Mack Center and the Hofstra Dome. Yes, a I-AA program has a dome.... Meanwhile, the Islanders play in a 35 year old cement shithole, that even the Florence Civic Center would laugh at. By the way, the same company manages both sites....It's a cement wasteland that is about one step ahead of the Roman Coliseum, technologically speaking.
There's nothing like visiting a site of possible development to get an idea if a project is needed or not. Since the Islanders are willing to pay to build a new facility on thier own, I would say giev them the green light ASAP. But, the traffic in that area is atrocious. Hempstead Turnpike and the Meadowbrook Parkway absolutely cannot handle the additional traffic that a project the size of the Lighthouse endeavor would create. Just build the complex, and forget the rest....
The Isles will be in the Coliseum until 2015, so time is starting to run out on making a new facility. Of course, they could always move to Florence......
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2 comments:
Mike--I hate to tell ya buddy but I think another NY team is getting ready to head south or west. Let's see...New Orleans Islanders? Charlotte Islanders? Yes I know the Hurricanes play in NC, but its Raliegh and if you spend anytime in NC you learn real fast there is a fierce competition between the triad and the queen city.
I know they could move to San Fransico! The San Fransico Islanders..instead of the wave they could do it San Fransico style and call if a chain of islands! Would diffently give new meaning to island hopping!!...
Yeah, the rumors are all over. Kansas City seems to be biggest suitor/tease right now, but they only got 9000 people to show up. I know the CLT/RAL rivalry well, but I haven't heard anything about that. San Francisco would be interesting - they could play on Alcatraz and still be called the Islanders then.
Staying on the Island would be in the team's best interest. It's the 11th largest market, and we love our hockey. Plus, Brooklyn lost it's identity when the Dodgers moved. Long Island knows the same will happen without the Isles. No players want to come here to such a crappy facility, so they will suck and no fans will come if the place stinks. There's still hope..
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