The Islanders are already talking about switching boroughs.
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Islanders fans across the board weren’t happy with their experience in Barclays Center, and it seems management wasn’t either as Bloomberg has reported that the Islanders are in talks with the New York Mets to secure an arena next to Citi Field in Queens. The Isles’ average home attendance last season was 13,626, third worst in the National Hockey League and down almost 1,500 fans per game from their final season at Nassau Coliseum.
Real estate around Citi Field had previously been looked at as a potential home for an MLS franchise..
That being said, the Islanders could be using the threat of a move to leverage Barclays on changes. “Any further questions from media and fans, please call Islanders ownership”.
Former majority owner Charles Wang moved the team after voters in 2011 rejected a referendum that would have used taxpayer money to build a new arena on Long Island.
The Barclays Center experiment might be over. Even so, in February, Brett Yormark, the CEO of the Barclays Center, told ESPN that “There’s really nothing we’re going to do from a capital improvement standpoint” to fix the seating situation, arguing that fans have many other seats to choose from, and other ways to enjoy the game (including watching online).
Barclays Center and the Islanders each have the option to opt out of their 25-year lease after the 2018-19 season.
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Ledecky responded, “Yes I do”, when asked at an informal press luncheon last week if he envisions Brooklyn being the Islanders’ long-term locale, before adding that “Barclays is our home”. Players also expressed displeasure about the ice conditions at times. But the Islanders appear to have the Mets in their corner at this early stage, which can only help them bolster an eventual case for public funding to build a new arena in Queens.
