The Barn The Old Barn The Coli Fort Neverlose | |
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 The Nassau Coliseum in 2021 | |
  Nassau Coliseum Location in New York State Show map of New York Nassau Coliseum Location in the United States Show map of the United States | |
| Address | 1255Hempstead Turnpike |
|---|---|
| Location | Uniondale, New York, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 40°43′22″N73°35′26″W / 40.72278°N 73.59056°W /40.72278; -73.59056 |
| Public transit |  Nassau Inter-County Express: N70, N71[1] |
| Owner | Nassau County,New York |
| Operator | Nassau Live Center, LLC |
| Executive suites | 32 |
| Capacity | Concerts: 16,000[2] Basketball: 14,500 Ice hockey: 13,900 |
| Surface | Multi-surface |
| Scoreboard | Daktronics Inc. |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | January 20, 1969 (1969-01-20)[3] |
| Built | 1969–1972 |
| Opened | February 11, 1972 |
| Renovated | 2015–2017 |
| Expanded | 1976, 1983, 2017 |
| Reopened | March 31, 2017 (renovations) |
| Construction cost | US$32 million ($274 million in 2024 dollars[4]) |
| Architect | Welton Becket and Associates |
| Structural engineer | Severud Associates |
| General contractor | Irwin Schlef[3] |
| Tenants | |
| New York Islanders (NHL) (1972–2015, 2018–2021) New York Nets (ABA/NBA) (1972–1977) New York Sets/Apples (WTT) (1974–1977) Long Island Tomahawks (NLL) (1975) New York Arrows (MISL) (1978–1984) New York Express (MISL) (1986–1987) New York Saints (NLL) (1989–2003) Long Island Jawz (RHI) (1996) New York Dragons (AFL) (2001–2008) New York Titans (NLL) (2007) Long Island Nets (NBAGL) (2017–present) New York Open (ATP) (2018–2020) New York Riptide (NLL) (2019–2024) | |
| Website | |
| nassaucoliseum | |
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply theNassau Coliseum) is a multi-purposeindoor arena inUniondale, New York, onLong Island. The venue is situated approximately 7 miles (11 km) east of the eastern limits of theborough ofQueens inNew York City, adjacent to theMeadowbrook Parkway. It is one of the larger public auditoriums in theNew York metropolitan area.
Opened in 1972,[5] the Coliseum occupies 63 acres (25 ha) ofMitchel Field, a formerArmy airfield, later anAir Force base. The facility is located in theTown of Hempstead, within the Uniondale 11553ZIP Code. The Coliseum is used for sporting events, concerts, large exhibitions, as well as trade shows—44,000 square feet (4,100 m2) at the main arena, 60,000 square feet (5,600 m2) at the Expo Center. In 2015, the arena was closed for a major renovation which was completed in April 2017.
TheNew York Islanders of theNational Hockey League (NHL) played at the Coliseum from 1972 to 2015 before moving toBarclays Center inBrooklyn. After the move was commercially unsuccessful, the team split its home schedule between Barclays and the renovated Coliseum from 2018 to 2020 and played the home portion of their 2020–21 season at the Coliseum, before moving to the newUBS Arena atBelmont Park for the 2021–22 season, which is also onHempstead Turnpike, 7.7 miles (12.4 km) west of the Coliseum.
It was also the home of the New York Nets (now known as theBrooklyn Nets) of theAmerican Basketball Association (ABA) andNational Basketball Association (NBA) from 1972 to 1977 and theNew York Riptide of theNational Lacrosse League (NLL) from 2020 to 2024. In 2017, the venue became the new home of the Brooklyn Nets'NBA G League team, theLong Island Nets. Currently, the Nets serve as the building's main tenant.[6]
The Coliseum originally had a capacity of 13,000 to 15,000 depending on the event, and in the early 1980s the maximum capacity was increased to around 18,000. Before closing for renovations in 2015 the Coliseum seated 16,170 for hockey, up to 18,511 for concerts and 17,686 forboxing. Those renovations resulted in drastically reduced capacities: 13,917 for hockey and 14,500 for basketball.[7]
TheNew York Raiders, intended by the fledglingWorld Hockey Association to be their flagship franchise, were slated to play in the new Nassau Coliseum in 1972–73. However, the Nassau County government did not consider the WHA a fully professional league and wanted nothing to do with the Raiders.[8]
Nassau County retainedWilliam Shea to get an NHL team to play in the new building. The NHL responded by hastily awarding a franchise toLong Island—theNew York Islanders—which forced the Raiders to play inMadison Square Garden, in the shadow of theNew York Rangers.[9] On October 7, 1972, the first Islanders game in Nassau Coliseum was played as theAtlanta Flames visited the Islanders. Flames forwardMorris Stefaniw scored the first NHL goal in the building at 6:56 of the first period, whileEd Westfall scored the first goal for the Islanders, as the Flames won the game 3–2. The first Islanders' home win at the arena was on October 12, 1972, where they defeated theLos Angeles Kings 3–2. The Islanders' first playoff win at the arena came on April 20, 1975, where they defeated thePittsburgh Penguins 4–2. On April 22, 1976, the Islanders earned their first playoff series victory at the arena by defeating theBuffalo Sabres 3–2, and winning the series 4–2.[10]
On February 8, 1983, the arena hosted the35th National Hockey League All-Star Game, during whichWayne Gretzky scored four goals in the third period and was honored as the game's most valuable player.[11]
The Islanders were 11–1 inStanley Cup Finals games at the Coliseum. Their only loss was a 1–0 setback in Game 1 in1984 to theEdmonton Oilers. Team's fans nicknamed the arena "Fort Neverlose" in honor of the team's strong home record during the finals.[12]
Nassau Coliseum hostedminor league hockey prior to the awarding of the Islanders franchise, an event that was brought back in 2005, when the Islanders-affiliatedBridgeport Sound Tigers of theAmerican Hockey League (AHL) played two "home" games at the Coliseum in the absence of NHL hockey due to the2004–05 NHL lockout.[13] On April 17–18, 2009, the Sound Tigers played two of their home playoff games against theWilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at the Coliseum due to a scheduling conflict at theArena at Harbor Yard inBridgeport, Connecticut, the team's home.
The Islanders played their last game at the Coliseum before moving to Barclays Center on April 25, 2015, beating theWashington Capitals 3–1 in Game 6 of the first round of the2015 playoffs against theWashington Capitals forcing a Game 7, held in and won by Washington, ending the Islanders' first run at the Coliseum; in Game 6Cal Clutterbuck of the Islanders scored the final NHL goal in the building, an empty netter at 19:07 of the third period.[14] Following the2014–15 season, the Coliseum underwent a major renovation. On September 17, 2017, the Islanders returned to the Nassau Coliseum to face thePhiladelphia Flyers for a preseason match up. With the Islanders being unhappy at their home in Brooklyn, the league awarded the Islanders to split their home games during the 2018–19 season between the Barclays Center and Nassau Coliseum. The Islanders played their first regular season game back at the Coliseum on December 1, 2018, against theColumbus Blue Jackets, where the Islanders won 3–2. During the2019 playoffs, the First Round was held at the Coliseum. The Islanders again split the 2019–20 season between Nassau Coliseum and Barclays Center and it was announced by then New York GovernorAndrew Cuomo that the Islanders would play the remainder of their games at the Coliseum, while the Islanders new homeUBS Arena was being built and the 2020–21 season being the final at the Coliseum. With theCOVID-19 pandemic, the Islanders played atScotiabank Arena andRogers Place during the2020 playoffs, and then opened up the2020–21 season at the Coliseum with no fans.
On June 23, 2021, the Islanders played their final game at the Coliseum, before moving to their new arena, in a 3–2 overtime win in game 6 of the2021 Stanley Cup semifinals against theTampa Bay Lightning, withAnthony Beauvillier scoring the overtime goal to force game 7.[15] However, the Islanders lost game 7, thus making game 6 the last major league sporting event held there, and Beauvillier scored the last NHL goal in this arena,[16] and his team achieved a rare feat as a consolation prize: they became the third team (after the1982–83 Calgary Flames and1994–95 Quebec Nordiques) to end their arena's history with a playoff victory.[17]
The Coliseum was home to theNew York Nets of theAmerican Basketball Association, and later theNational Basketball Association, from 1972 to 1977. The first event at the Coliseum was a Nets game against thePittsburgh Condors on February 11, 1972.[18]
The Nets won two ABA Championships in the Coliseum, with Hall of FamerJulius Erving headlining the team. In1973–74 the Nets defeated theUtah Stars in five games to capture their first title. The Nets then captured the finalAmerican Basketball Association Championship in1976, defeating theDenver Nuggets in six games. Following the 1976 season the Nets joined theNational Basketball Association as part of theABA–NBA merger.[19]After their first season in the NBA, the Nets moved to New Jersey. The New Jersey Nets played four seasons at theRutgers Athletic Center before completion of theMeadowlands Arena at theMeadowlands Sports Complex.[19]
InNCAA Division I men'scollege basketball, the Coliseum hosted theECAC Metro Region tournament organized by theEastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) in1978,1979,1980, and1981.[20][21][22][23][24] It also has hosted first- and second-round games of theNCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in1982,1994, and2001.[25][26][27]
On November 5, 2015, the Nets announced that their newNBA D-League team, theLong Island Nets, would play at the renovated Coliseum starting in 2017 (the team played their first season at their parent team's home, theBarclays Center).[28][29]
The Coliseum also hosted theNew York Arrows and later theNew York Express of the originalMajor Indoor Soccer League. The Arrows, which existed as a franchise from 1978 to 1984, won the first four MISL championships.[30] The short-lived New York Express played part of the 1986–87 season, ending operations before the All-Star break with financial troubles and a 3–23 record.[31]
TheNew York Sets ofWorld Team Tennis played their first match at Nassau Coliseum on May 7, 1974, and won the WTT championships in 1976.[32] The team changed its name to theNew York Apples for the 1977 season, and played 12 of its 22 home matches atMadison Square Garden and theFelt Forum, repeating as champions.[33] Prior to the 1978 season, the Apples announced that they would leave the Coliseum and play all their home matches in the Madison Square Garden complex.[34]
The Coliseum was home to theNew York Saints of theNational Lacrosse League from 1989 to 2003.[35] In 2007, it was home to four of theNew York TitansNational Lacrosse League team's eight home games (along with Madison Square Garden).[36]
In 2000, 2005 and 2017, theProfessional Bull Riders brought theirBuilt Ford Tough Series (originally Bud Light Cup) to the Coliseum.[37]
On February 24–25, 2006, the Coliseum hosted the 44thNYSPHSAA Wrestling Championships. It was just the third time the annual event has been held on Long Island. Selling 17,755 tickets over three sessions, it broke (and still holds) the NYSPHSAA wrestling tournament attendance record.[38]
On July 19–20, 2014, theGlobal RallyCross Championship raced at the Nassau Coliseum parking lot.[39]
On July 22, 2017, the Coliseum hostedUFC on Fox: Weidman vs. Gastelum.[40]
In February 2018, the Coliseum hosted theNew York Open, anATP 250 men's tennis tournament replacing the long-runningMemphis Open.[41][42]
In 2019, the Coliseum became the home of theNational Lacrosse League'sNew York Riptide. In 2024 the team would relocate to Ottawa.
Theseating capacity for hockey during the life of the arena has been:
Elvis Presley performed four sold-out concerts at the Nassau Coliseum on June 22, 23 & 24, 1973. His last two Coliseum appearance were on July 19, 1975. In 1977, Elvis had been scheduled for an August 22 concert as part of his sixth tour of the year, but he died on August 16, the day before the tour was to start.[51] Tickets for the show have become collector's items. Several of the songs included onThe Beach Boys In Concert album were recorded at The Nassau Coliseum.
The Beach Boys performed to a sold-out audience on June 14, 1974. Their tour promoted the recently releasedHolland album and featured a set list of recent songs as well as several of their early 1960s hits. They were joined onstage byElton John andPaul Simon for the encore performance.
Joni Mitchell performed at the Coliseum the night of August 28, 1974.
David Bowie performed a radio broadcast from there during his 1976Isolar Tour, in support of the albumStation to Station. A heavily circulatedbootleg of the concert saw official release in 2010 as part of the2010 reissue of the album, and in 2017 as a separate release,Live Nassau Coliseum '76.Queen played at the Coliseum on February 6, 1977, during theirA Day at the Races Tour. The band used footage of their performance of "Tie Your Mother Down" in the song's promotional film.[52] They would return on November 19, 1978, on theirJazz Tour.
Blue Öyster Cult recorded a live version of "Dr. Music" in Nassau Coliseum on December 30, 1981, that was subsequently released on theExtraterrestrial Live album in April 1982.
The Coliseum was one of only two venues in the United States wherePink Floyd mounted their limited run of shows forThe Wall Tour. The group performed five concerts from February 24 through 28, 1980 one of which was filmed and only appeared as an underground tape. In August 1988, they recorded and filmed theDelicate Sound of Thunder over four nights at the Coliseum.
Live on Long Island 04–18–80 byThe Marshall Tucker Band was the original lineup's final concert and the final recording of bassist and founding memberTommy Caldwell, who died just ten days later in an automobile accident. Tommy Caldwell is pictured on the album cover. The Coliseum album was the first to feature a complete concert from the original band. However, the album wasn't released until 26 years later. The band was touring in support of their albumTenth at the time, and the recording features the songs "It Takes Time" and "Cattle Drive" from that release as well as classics such as "Heard It in a Love Song", "Searchin' for a Rainbow" and "Can't You See".[citation needed]
Billy Joel's concert from his 1982 tour at the Coliseum was recorded for a 1983 HBO concert special and VHS/Laser Disc release,Billy Joel: Live From Long Island.[53]
Bruce Springsteen has performed at the arena numerous times, most notably during a three-night stand in December 1980. A number of songs from these shows were part of his 1986live album,Live/1975–85, and full recordings of the three performances werereleased between 2015 and 2021. The New Year's Eve show in particular is often regarded by fans as one of the greatest gigs of Springsteen's career.[54][55]
The 1987 home videoCliff 'Em All features a rendition of the song "Master of Puppets" byMetallica, filmed at Nassau Coliseum on April 28, 1986 (while the band was opening a show forOzzy Osbourne).[citation needed]
BothThe Grateful Dead andPhish frequently played the Coliseum, concerts yielding live albums in both cases:Go to Nassau,Wake Up to Find Out,Dick's Picks Volume 13,Spring 1990: So Glad You Made It,Spring 1990 (album),Spring 1990 (The Other One) by the Dead; and three installments of theLive Phish Series—4–2–98,4–3–98 and2-28-03. TheGrateful Dead holds the record for the most performances at the venue by a single act with 42 total shows. A banner was raised during a 2019Dead & Company show commemorating the 44 combined performances by the Grateful Dead and Dead & Company.[56]
Genesis' performance at the Coliseum on November 29, 1981 (during the band'sAbacab Tour) was recorded and filmed for the band'sThree Sides Live album and concert video plus radio broadcast.
Frank Zappa played his final U.S. show on March 25, 1988[57] at the Coliseum. He was joined onstage by his son,Dweezil Zappa, for the concert's encores.
Pink Floyd performed between August 19 and 23, 1988, on theirA Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour. The majority of the subsequent live double albumDelicate Sound of Thunder was recorded during these shows.
In March 1990, the country supergroupThe Highwaymen performed at the Coliseum. Their performance was recorded and was released on VHS in 1991.
Nassau has been a mainstay ofWWE for over 30 years, and has hostedRaw andSmackDown many times, including the taping of aSmackDown episode where professional wrestlerDroz suffered a (untelevised) career-ending injury in 1999. On August 25, 2002,SummerSlam was hosted at the Coliseum. Later, the WWE heldThe Great American Bash in 2008, followed by 2010'sFatal 4-Way, at the Coliseum. On April 10, 2017, the renovated Coliseum hosted its first episode ofRaw.[58] In October 2018, the Coliseum hostedEvolution, the promotion's first all-women's pay-per-view event.[59] On May 10, 1985, the Coliseum hosted the taping of the series premiere ofSaturday Night's Main Event, a recurring series of WWF specials broadcast byNBC during the peak of the1980s professional wrestling boom. On December 14, 2024,Saturday Night's Main Event returned to the Coliseum for the premiere of its second revival as an NBC prime time special.[60]
The Coliseum hosted the opening leg ofWrestleMania 2 on April 7, 1986. As part of an ambitious plan to hostWrestleMania from three separate venues (alongside theRosemont Horizon inChicago and theLos Angeles Memorial Sports Arena), 16,585 fans saw 4 live matches at the Coliseum with the rest of the event shown to the audience by closed-circuit television. The main event at the Nassau leg was a boxing match betweenRowdy Roddy Piper and tough-guy actorMr. T.[61]
The Coliseum hosted its firstAEW pay-per-view,Worlds End on December 30, 2023.
The Nassau Coliseum also hosted several editions of now-defunctWCW'sMonday Nitro.[62][63][64] The Coliseum was the only Tri-State area venue the Southern-based WCW was allowed to hold events.[citation needed]
Scenes for the 2007 movieMusic and Lyrics starringHugh Grant andDrew Barrymore were filmed at the arena.[65]
Not long after the Islanders announced their move to Brooklyn,Forest City Enterprises, the owner of Barclays Center, was chosen to perform a study on development possibilities for the Nassau Coliseum site.[66] A request for proposal was issued as a result of this study to transform the arena into a smaller sized venue and its surrounding parking lot into an entertainment hub with theaters, sports bars, and retail.
Four competing proposals were submitted in May 2013,[67] and Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano selected two finalists in July 2013, including one from a group led byForest City Ratner. Ratner's proposal called for a reduction of the Coliseum's capacity to 13,000 seats and a revamp of the arena's interior and concrete facade designed bySHoP Architects, the firm which designed the Barclays Center, which would cost the group approximately $89 million. As part of his bid, the Islanders would play 6 games per season in the arena, theBrooklyn Nets would play one exhibition game, and a minor league hockey team would call the arena home.[68][69]
On August 15, 2013, Nassau County announced Forest City had won the bid for the renovation of the Nassau Coliseum and the surrounding property, pending approval from the Nassau legislature and zoning changes from the Hempstead town government.[70][71] TheNassau County Legislature unanimously approved the bid on September 24, 2013.[72]
Billy Joel performed the arena's final pre-renovation concert on August 4, 2015.[73]
On April 5, 2017, a Billy Joel concert was the arena's first post-renovation event. Other acts that performed during the new Coliseum's opening week includeStevie Nicks,The Pretenders,Idina Menzel,Lionel Richie,Mariah Carey, andMarc Anthony.[74]
On November 4, 2016, Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment reached a naming rights deal withNew York Community Bank. The cost of the naming rights and the agreement's length were not disclosed.[75] The deal with the county mandated the inclusion of "Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum" in the arena's name; the naming rights were initially announced as having named the venue "Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum presented by New York Community Bank",[76] but this was later revised toNYCB Live: Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.[77]
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performed their final show at Nassau Coliseum on May 21, 2017.[78] This was their only show at Nassau Coliseum post-renovation.
In late January 2017,Bloomberg News reported via internal sources that Barclays Center was considering dropping the Islanders due to poor attendance and their effects on the venue's profits. The venue has received a poor reception as a hockey arena due to poor sight lines and ice conditions, as Barclays was primarily designed as a basketball arena.Newsday reported that Nassau County executive Edward Mangano had met with Islanders co-ownerJonathan Ledecky, and he told the paper the Islanders could return to the renovated Nassau Coliseum.[28][29] These reports were further elaborated byLong Island Association president Kevin Law in April 2017, who stated that Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment (who manages both venues) was preparing to offer a relocation plan to the team. Law felt that the alternate option of seeking anew arena inBelmont Park was redundant to the renovated Coliseum.[79] The Islanders played a preseason game against thePhiladelphia Flyers on September 17, 2017, their first appearance at the renovated Coliseum.[80]
The renovation project reduced the capacity of the arena to 13,900, a level which was believed to be unsustainable for an NHL team; in comparison, the Islanders' average attendance at Barclays was 12,059, the lowest in the NHL (Barclays Center was the second-smallest arena in the NHL based on seating capacity at 15,795, which was around 400 seats fewer than the Coliseum pre-renovation).[81][82][83] As such,NHL commissionerGary Bettman felt that returning was not a "viable option" for the Islanders, but noted that the team was "in the process of evaluating what makes the most sense for the franchise and particularly for their fans."[83]
In December 2017, New York Arena Partners (a venture of the Islanders,Oak View Group, andSterling Equities) won a bid to construct anew, 18,000-seat arena and mixed-use district at Belmont Park, beating a competing proposal byNew York City FC for a new soccer stadium. The new arena opened for the 2021–22 season.[84][85]
In January 2018, Islanders ownerJon Ledecky revealed onWFAN'sBoomer and Gio that he had toured the renovated Coliseum with Bettman and other senior NHL officials. They assessed that the Islanders could play a limited schedule of home games at the Coliseum, but that it would not be sustainable as a full-time venue because of its capacity and diminished amenities (such as few corporate suites) over other newly built arenas.[86] On January 23, 2018, it was reported that Barclays Center was pushing for a short-term lease under which the Islanders would split their home games between Barclays Center and Nassau Coliseum until the Belmont Park arena is completed, with the number of games at the Coliseum steadily increasing for each year of the arrangement.[82]
On June 21, 2018, it was announced that the Islanders would play a portion of their home schedule at the Coliseum until the completion of the new arena, with 12 games moved in the 2018–19 season.[87] The number of games during the 2018–19 season at the Coliseum was later increased to 20.[88]
The Islanders used the Coliseum as their home rink during the first round of the2019 Stanley Cup playoffs but moved back to the Barclays Center for the rest of the 2019 playoffs.[89]
In September 2019, it was announced that in the 2019–20 season, the Islanders would play 28 of their 41 home games at the Coliseum.[90] On February 29, 2020, state governorAndrew Cuomo announced that the Islanders would play any home playoff games of the 2020 playoffs and all 2020–21 season home games at the Coliseum.[91] Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the NHL season was suspended and continued in abio-secure bubble later in the year, with the Islanders playing most of their playoff games atScotiabank Arena in Toronto before traveling toRogers Place in Edmonton for the Eastern Conference finals (their first conference finals appearance since1993).[92]
The Islanders played their final game at the renovated Coliseum on June 23, 2021, defeating theTampa Bay Lightning 3–2 in overtime of Game 6 of theStanley Cup semifinals.Anthony Beauvillier scored the final goal of the Islanders' second stint at the Coliseum.[93] However, the Lightning would win Game 7 in Tampa to end the Islanders' season.[94]
In June 2020,Mikhail Prokhorov, whose company ran the Nassau Coliseum, announced that the arena would be closed indefinitely while it sought new investors to take it over and assume the remaining debt[95] as a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[96] NYCB pulled out of its naming rights contract in late August 2020.[77]
In August 2020, Nassau Coliseum's lease was taken over byNassau Live Center, LLC, which is headed by a Florida-based businessman Nick Mastroianni II, whose company was responsible for the loan to help with the renovation of the arena.[96][97][98] The new leaseholder agreed to let the Islanders play their home games in the arena until theUBS Arena was finished.
The Coliseum was the second-oldest arena in active use by a National Hockey League team (after nearbyMadison Square Garden), and until the return of theWinnipeg Jets to the league at the 15,004-seatCanada Life Centre inWinnipeg, was the smallest arena in the NHL by total seating capacity.[99] The arena had been considered obsolete for many years, and various Islanders owners tried to replace it.
Team and county officials announced in 2004 a plan calledThe Lighthouse Project to renovate the Coliseum. The project's centerpiece was a 60-story tower that would look like a lighthouse. Other plans included new housing, athletic facilities, aminor league baseball stadium, restaurants, and a hotel. The project would also add trees, water and other natural elements to the area.[100]
On August 14, 2007, Islanders ownerCharles Wang and the Lighthouse Development Group partnered withRexcorp to create a new plan. The 60-story "lighthouse" evolved into two 31-story buildings connected by a footbridge at the top. The project was transformed from a simple renovation of the Coliseum property into a 150-acre (0.61 km2) transformation of surrounding properties. Plans called for more 2,000 residential units (20% affordable housing), a hotel, a convention center, a sports technology center, 500,000 square feet (46,000 m2) of retail space, and a sports complex next to the renovated Coliseum. The overall project was slated to cost roughly $3.75 billion.[101]
Construction was not planned to begin until at least mid-2009. Nassau County approved the Lighthouse Project in 2006 on a 16–2 vote, and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement was completed after a state-mandated environmental review.[101] The Lighthouse Project was then expected to go before the Town of Hempstead for approval on a change in land zoning.[102] However, the approval was never granted. After the October 2009 deadline passed, theLong Island Press reported the Lighthouse Project's cancellation.[103] Wang has denied the report.[104]
In May 2010, Mets COOJeff Wilpon had discussions with Wang about constructing an arena for the Islanders near Citi Field. Wilpon has also discussed buying the Islanders.[105] In June 2010, theFanHouse website reported Jeff andFred Wilpon, the owner of the Mets, began working with real estate firmJones Lang LaSalle (who also worked on Madison Square Garden's latest renovation) on a feasibility study of a new Islanders arena in Queens.[106] However, a source fromNewsday indicated the FanHouse report was not true.[107] There were also reports businessmanNelson Peltz wanted to buy the Islanders and move them to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.[108]
On July 12, 2010, Town SupervisorKate Murray (R-Hempstead) announced an "alternate zone" for the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum property that downsized the Lighthouse Project to half its proposed size and made the project, according to Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano and the developers, "economically unviable for both the developer and owner of the site." As a result, Wang, Mangano and the developers decided they would no longer pursue the project.[109]
On May 11, 2011, the Islanders and Nassau County executives announced that county residents would vote on a referendum for approval of a $400 million public bond issue for a new plan to replace the Coliseum. The plan, including the construction of a new $350 million arena as well as a $50 million minor league baseball ballpark nearby, was presented by Wang as a last-ditch effort to keep the Islanders on Long Island.[110] However, voters in Nassau County rejected a proposal by a 57% to 43% margin on August 1, 2011.
On October 24, 2012, the Islanders announced the team would move to theBarclays Center inBrooklyn after their lease expired at the end of the 2014–2015 season.[111] The Islanders played their final game at the Coliseum on April 25, 2015, beating theWashington Capitals 3–1 in Game 6 of the first round of the playoffs against theWashington Capitals forcing a Game 7, held in and won by Washington, ending the Islanders' run at the Coliseum; in Game 6Cal Clutterbuck of the Islanders scored the final NHL goal in the building, an empty netter at 19:07 of the third period.[14]
| Sands New York | |
|---|---|
 Interactive map of Sands New York | |
| Location | Uniondale,New York,United States |
| Opening date | Canceled |
| No. of rooms | 1,670 |
| Total gaming space | 400,000 sq ft[112] |
| Casino type | Resort |
| Operating license holder | Las Vegas Sands |
In 2023,Las Vegas Sands submitted a bid to lease the property of the Nassau Coliseum and construct anintegrated resort, consisting of a casino, 1,670 hotel rooms[113] and convention space, retail, dining and outdoor community spaces, possibly including demolition of the Coliseum.[112][114] Following the announcement, parts of the local community surrounding the Coliseum had spoken out against it, citing a potential increase of traffic and congestion in the area.[115] The Nassau County Legislature voted 17–1 with one recusal to transfer the Coliseum lease to the Sands,[116][117][118] but in November a state judge struck down the deal, citing the County did not adequately provide enough transparent, public hearings for the project.[119] In May 2024, the county announced it planned to resubmit the lease-transfer application.[120] Las Vegas Sands withdrew their bid in April 2025. The company cited New York's move to legalize online gambling as their reason to withdraw the bid.[121][122] Following the withdrawal of the bid, Sands was in talks with a third party to take over the Nassau Coliseum lease and the redevelopment of the site.[123][124] After Sands exited, the community continued to push for the casino proposal to be dropped.[125] By the end of May 2025, Sands was struggling to find another gaming company to take over the bid, making it possible that a new developer takes over and takes on a non-gaming project for the site.[126]
First, the Raiders could not find a home. After their attempt to play at the Nassau Coliseum was blocked, they negotiated nightly rentals at the Garden.
The Raiders hoped to inhabit the new Nassau Coliseum being built in Uniondale, Long Island, whose only planned tenant as of 1972 was the ABA's New York Nets. The owners of the Nassau Coliseum were not too thrilled with having the Raiders play in their arena, and William Shea – the man who helped attract the New York Mets to the nearby Flushing Meadows baseball stadium in 1962 – was brought in to help secure a NHL franchise for the arena.... But with the advent of the WHA and the Raiders, the NHL quickly granted two new franchises in 1972 – one of which was the New York Islanders, who were to inhabit the Nassau Coliseum.
The Sound Tigers' average attendance peaked in 2004-05, the NHL lockout year, with an average crowd over 5,000; even taking out two huge crowds at Nassau Coliseum, their 38 Bridgeport crowds approached that magic number.
The Arrows, a charter member of the Major Indoor Soccer League, have folded and filed for bankruptcy, developments which mean that the league will be without a franchise in the New York metropolitan area next season for the first time since it was formed in 1978.... Although league officials have expressed hope that the franchise might be revitalized at some unspecified future point, one thing is certain for now: The team that dominated M.I.S.L. play for the league's first four seasons, winning the championship in each of those years, no longer exists.
The Major Indoor Soccer League suffered another setback in the metropolitan area yesterday when the New York Express filed for bankruptcy under Chapter XI.... Although the Express won only three of the 26 games it played and attracted small crowds, Davis said lack of financing, not the poor won-lost record, was the reason for its downfall.
It's unclear why either Bloomberg or Ullmann had such hope, given the drawn-out lackluster life of the New York Saints, an NLL team that existed from 1989 to 2003 that, while not within the five boroughs, was as much of a New York City team as, say, the Giants or the Jets.
The New York Titans announced today the schedule for the team's inaugural season, beginning in January of 2007. The Titans sixteen-game schedule runs from January 2007 to April 2007 and includes four home games at Madison Square Garden and four home games at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Hart, 30, who's from Marietta, Okla., is the real deal and a founding member of the Professional Bull Riders tour, which sidled onto Long Island for a two-day hitch at Nassau Coliseum last weekend.
The Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship was held at New York's Nassau Coliseum this weekend.
Middleweight Chris Weidman celebrates after defeating Kelvin Gastelum during the Fox UFC Fight Night main card at NYCB Live Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, on July 22, 2017.
One aspect of the night that might not linger pleasantly among the sellout crowd of 15,850 was the loss of Mike Bossy after the second period.
Say what you will about the plot ofMusic and Lyrics, but you can't get more rom-com perfect than casting Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore as the leads in a movie coming out on Valentine's Day.... With the shoot taking place at Long Island's Nassau Coliseum (subbing as Madison Square Garden), I showed up at 10 a.m. and was temporarily seated among the extras, who were pretending to be audience members for a show by faux pop star Cora Corman, played by newcomer Haley Bennett.
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