Belmont Park race track will announce its decision to either become the new home for the NHL’s New York Islanders or the MLS’ New York City FC Wednesday, Newsday is reporting.
The Islanders currently play out of Barclays Center, while NYCFC calls Yankee Stadium home. Neither location is ideal for either club, but Barclays in particular hasn’t worked out for the Islanders.
Since moving into the basketball-focused Brooklyn facility three years ago after a 43-year run at Nassau Coliseum, the Islanders have faced many difficulties including poor ice conditions and bad sightlines for hockey fans.
Worse yet, Barclays Center management, which originally signed a 25-year deal with the Islanders, stated at the beginning of 2017 they want their hockey-playing tenants out of their building and put on the table a Jan. 1 deadline to renegotiate the terms of their deal where, if the two sides can’t come to an accord, Barclays Center can choose to keep the current deal or opt out.
If Barclays Center opts out, the Islanders will have until the start of the 2018-19 season to find a new home.
Thus, it’s important for the future of the Islanders to find a new arena, otherwise they may have to end up returning to Nassau Coliseum.
Both the Islanders and NYCFC submitted proposals to Empire State Development before a Sept. 25 deadline and held a public hearing about their proposals on Dec. 10.
At that hearing, the Islanders presented a plan that would see them build an 18,000-seat arena, with retail and hotel space. NYCFC’s plan, on the other hand, would be for a 26,000-seat, open-air stadium.
Belmont Park is a world-famous horseracing track and now looks like it will expand.
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