NEW YORK (AP Oct 24, 2012) – Now hockey is coming to Brooklyn.
The NHL’s New York Islanders have agreed to move to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center starting with the 2015-16 season.
Islanders owner Charles Wang made the announcement at a news
conference Wednesday. He opened the session by exclaiming “Hello,
Brooklyn!” The lease agreement is for 25 years.
Officials in Nassau County, N.Y., have struggled for years to
come up with a plan to either renovate or build a new arena to
replace the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which opened in
1972.
Wang had long threatened to move the team from the site when the
team’s lease expires after the 2015 season. He has complained that
the dilapidated building is unsuited for a professional sports
franchise.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg says, “Brooklyn is big time and now we
have the big league sports to prove it.”
