OTTAWA--NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said he would “find it hard to believe” a deal will not be worked out to replace or refurbish Nassau Coliseum, thus keeping the Islanders on Long Island, before the lease expires in 2015.
"They still have three-and-a-half years to go,” Bettman said in an informal session following a news conference here during All-Star Weekend. “I find it hard to believe that there won’t be a solution to that building situation. Long Island deserves a new building, not just for hockey, but for concerts and family shows and the like. And I’ve got to believe the people in charge of those things will tend to it in due course.”
OTTAWA--NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said he would “find it hard to believe” a deal will not be worked out to replace or refurbish Nassau Coliseum, thus keeping the Islanders on Long Island, before the lease expires in 2015.
"They still have three-and-a-half years to go,” Bettman said in an informal session following a news conference here during All-Star Weekend. “I find it hard to believe that there won’t be a solution to that building situation. Long Island deserves a new building, not just for hockey, but for concerts and family shows and the like. And I’ve got to believe the people in charge of those things will tend to it in due course.”
Huh? Wha? I was sleeping. Did someone say something about a nude Aretha? If so, that's disgusting.
While I would hope that Bettman would do everything in his power to keep the Isles on Long Island n(given how he's pulling out all the stops to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix), I can't help but remember his quote from about 10 yrs ago about the NY metro area having "too many teams"
While there still is some time b/c lets say they come to an agreement in a year but the building wont be finished for another two or so, then they certainly can extend the lease on the coliseum for a year...but a PLAN must be in place. As as my father says, money talks, ******** walks.
right now, all we have is BS. I just cant believe that one crazy lady and a disfunctional crew in government could stand in the way of this.
but hey, its nassau.....where dreams go to die. :/
They even had a modern arena. How hard did he fight for them?
Different situation. The owners there owned the building, NBA team and Thrashers. The people they sold to didn't want the Thrashers, just the building and the NBA team. So there really wasn't anything else to do.
Different situation. The owners there owned the building, NBA team and Thrashers. The people they sold to didn't want the Thrashers, just the building and the NBA team. So there really wasn't anything else to do.
Bottom line was Bettman did nothing to help Thrashers with new owners in Atlanta and placing all hope in him to keep NYI on LI isn't worth much. I'm not holding my breath.
He ain't met NIFA or looked at nassau's books apparently.
Bottom line was Bettman did nothing to help Thrashers with new owners in Atlanta and placing all hope in him to keep NYI on LI isn't worth much. I'm not holding my breath.
He ain't met NIFA or looked at nassau's books apparently.
Again. Nothing to do there. If they could have found an owner, they were only going to be tenants in the building and thus wouldn't make any money. It was, unfortunately, hopeless. That's why it didn't drag out.
How does he figure we still have 3 and half years when it takes at least 2 years to build a new arena?
What Kidd says.
If they're going to come to an agreement and have to iron out the details, take a year to settle the bureaucratic BS, then take two years to build, they could go year to year or sign a good faith extension to terms favorable to the Isles until the deal happens and the lease can get extended.
If they want to work in a favor, the Isles could extend the lease for more favorable terms in the future with no new arena in place in 2015 and go on until there is one. 2015 does not mean they can't play there ever again.
Wat makes Wang the most money will be where Wang slots the Isles to play. Or not.....he hasn't been the brightest turnip in the knife drawer if that makes any sense.......because if that makes any sense, you probably think this ****hole is a good owner.
It sounds like Bettman is going to approve of anything the county does which means not much to nothing will play out as, "we're glad the historic Dynasty team is remaining in its home."
As in, he's been blowing smoke out his *** the past few years.
Something will get done by 2015. It may be little, it may be just significant enough, but the Isles won't move. Wang or whoever buys the team will have a swetheart deal in place to run the arena.
God knows the arena's been run like jackal **** for decades before the SMG/Wang deal.
What I took out of the article is what I have been saying all along.
There is no place for Wang to move the team to.
I think this was more Bettman sending a message than anything else. Seattle has no arena, Qubec City has the same arena problem the Isles currently have and we all know the KC expirment failed. So where's he going?
