Report: Islanders Awarded Space At Belmont Park To Build New Stadium On Long Island
The Islanders have won a bid to build a new stadium at Belmont Park, which would move the team back to Long Island, Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg reports.
According to Soshnick, Empire State Development chose the Islanders plan for an 18,000-seat stadium at the site over a bid made by New York City FC.
The Islanders had played at Nassau Coliseum in Nassau County from 1972 to 2015. The team moved from Long Island to Brooklyn to play in the Barclays Center starting in the 2015-16 season.
The Belmont Park site is just outside of Queens in Nassau County, and is much closer to the Islanders' original home than the Barclays Center. The Islanders' bid also included a plan to reopen the Long Island Rail Road stop at Belmont Park, according to CBS 2 New York.
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The Islanders had signed a 25-year lease to play at Barclays Center, but they can opt out of the deal in January, according to Soshnick.
The Oak View Group and Sterling Equities went in on the bid for the Belmont Park site with the Islanders, according to Soshnick. The Oak View Group is partially funded by the Madison Square Garden Co. and Sterling Equities is run by Fred Wilpon, the owner of the Mets.
This season, the Islanders are last in attendance, drawing 11,642 fans to the Barclays Center per game.