By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
The Nassau Coliseum has been shut down, according to Bloomberg.com. The New York arena that was previously the home of the New York Islanders, New York Riptide, among other events, has closed.
Mikhail Prokhorov, who used to own the Brooklyn Nets, owns the arena through his Onexim Sports and Entertainment through a lease with Nassau County. The Billionaire has attempted to get investors to keep it open, but has not been successful in doing that so far.
There are reportedly $100 million in loans on the venue. Onexim allegedly told potential investors that they needed to clear the $100 million in order to ‘turn over the lease.’
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With the arena being shut down, staff employees have also been laid off. Bloomberg.com claims that ‘[it] could also surrender the lease to its lenders.’
Much like other venues in the United States, Nassau Coliseum has been shut down due to the global coronavirus pandemic. While sports have begun to take place in some states, many venues around the country have been closed since March.
“The unforeseeable and unprecedented COVID-19 crisis has had a devastating effect on the operations of the Coliseum and its finances,” Onexim said in a statement. “While we still believe in the enormous long-term economic value of the Coliseum and the development of the surrounding land, we recognize that such value will be best realized by other parties.”
Besides being named the Nassau Coliseum, the arena has also been named the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. It was also branded, at one time, as the NYCB Live: Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which was for sponsorship purposes.
The arena is located in Uniondale, New York and opened in 1972. From when the venue opened through 2015, the Islanders Uniondale home. Then, the team moved to the Barclays Center, before moving back to Long Island.
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The team is expected to move to Belmont Park Arena in 2021. But with this arena shutting down, the Islanders may have to move back to the Barclays Center until the new arena is completed.
Besides being home to the Islanders, the venue has also tenants including the New York Nets in the ABA/NBA, New York Sens/Apples in the WTT, New York Arrows and the New York Express in the MISL; Long Island Tomahawks, New York Saints, New York Titans, and the New York Riptide in the NLL; Long Island Jawz in the RHI, New York Dragons in the AFL, the Long Island Nets in the NBA G League, and the New York Open in the ATP.
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