Some major news coming out of the NHL yesterday. News broke that the New York Islanders will be returning to Nassau County, Long Island. It has been two years since they moved to the Barclays Center in disgusting Brooklyn.
It has been two disastrous years since moving from their longtime home, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum out on Long Island.
Nassau Coliseum was completely run-down, and the county would not build the team a new stadium. In 2013, it was announced that the team would move to Brooklyn at the start of the 2016-17 season. It was a nightmare. The arena is built specifically for basketball, so hockey sight-lines are miserable.
The above pictures say it all. Brooklyn may help you reach a wider audience marketing wise, but they lost a major portion of their fan base. Watching the Isles play is strange at the Barclays. There is no atmosphere. It is a very cookie cutter environment, which is a shame. The Islanders’ old stadium was a fucking dump, but it had everything Barclay’s doesn’t. It has atmosphere and charm. Two elements that make a great arena.
The Isles are one of the proudest franchises in the NHL like it or not. Back in the 1980’s, they went on a run that won’t be repeated. They won four Stanley Cups in a row from 1980-84. They were known for having rabid fans looking to get out of the shadow of the New York Rangers.
A huge chunk of their history was ripped away the second the Islanders moved to Brooklyn. This move back will hopefully bring back one of the leagues most intense fan bases.
Now, this new barn will not have the same charm the Colisuem had (it was a complete fucking dump) but it’s a start. Congrats Isles fans!!!
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