In the latest saga of Nassau County politics vs. the New York Islanders, County Executive Ed Mangano issued a statement calling for investors to develop the Nassau Hub.
Mangano released a Request for Qualifications from a “master developer”, but Islanders fans have heard Nassau County politicians sing the same tunes quite often. Recently, Kate Murray expressed her “desires” to keep the Islanders in Nassau County and stated that it has always been her intention to keep Long Island’s only professional sports franchise in town. However, politics continue to dominate Nassau County and the future of the New York Islanders on Long Island.
While Mangano’s attempt to lure a developer to the Nassau Hub could be seen as commendable, one has to wonder if this is yet another feeble attempt to assuage a fan-base that has not heard anything definite about their team’s arena situation in several months. The failure of the Lighthouse Project and last year’s August 1st referendum vote have created doubt among Islanders fans over whether the team will be in Nassau County after 2015.
Mangano might be saying all the right things right now, but Nassau Democratic chairman Jay Jacobs might have already ended this latest round of speculation as Newsday illustrated the following:
“Nassau Democratic Party chairman Jay Jacobs called Republican Mangano’s plan ‘counterproductive’ because it removes the county’s ability to deal directly with the Islanders’ leadership.”
Jacobs’ portrayal of Mangano’s plan being “counterproductive” sounded eerily similar to Kate Murray’s statements of Charles Wang’s Lighthouse Project being “too grandiose” for Nassau County. At this point in time, Mangano might have realized that Nassau County could become even more financially strapped if the Isles leave Long Island. However, Jacobs’ short reply says a lot more than just a few short words on why this current plan isn’t feasible for the county.
As of now, the New York Islanders see some percentage of money that comes from parking and concessions as per their lease agreement with SMG. Furthermore, the Isles and Wang pay almost 50% of their advertising income to SMG and Nassau County. In short, Jay Jacobs might not like the fact that another investor might block the county’s ability to make money off of the Islanders. If the Isles’ current situation with SMG and Nassau County does not allow Charles Wang to make much money, then why would any savvy investor agree to terms where it’d be hard for them to turn a profit?
Maybe Mangano might be sincere in his most recent attempts to find a developer that will keep the Islanders right where they are,
but it is yet to be seen if the County’s politics will interfere in this latest round of arena rumblings. Charles Wang had come up with an economically feasible plan that would have beautified and brought in revenue to the area around the Nassau Coliseum, but Kate Murray decided that the plan was too big for Nassau County and its residents. If Nassau County is expecting an investor to help fund the development around the Coliseum area and hardly make a profit once the area is developed, then the County and its politicians will most certainly lose the Isles come 2015 and will be hard pressed to find a dedicated investor that will want to undertake a project under such strict guidelines.
Last year’s failed referendum could be understandable on many levels. Nassau County already has some of the highest land and property taxes in the nation and raising them further probably did not appeal to the majority of people already living in the County. However, the raise in taxes could have been justified once one of Wang’s projects was completed. Nearly $800 Million would be spent to beautify the area around Nassau Coliseum and give the Isles a new home, but the money would have been well spent as the Islanders are a Live-In resident in Nassau County that provide the area with much needed revenue on 41 separate occasions throughout the hockey season.
While the Islanders might not be drawing the same crowds that they were attracting back in the early 2000s, Nassau County still makes money off of the Islanders. Concerts and performances at the Coliseum can only bring in so much revenue per year, so it is likely inevitable that Nassau County’s taxes will be exponentially raised if the Isles leave after their lease expires. Losing the Islanders would hurt Nassau County in the long run, but the County’s politicians seem to only be concerned with a way that they can keep the Isles and still make a significant amount of money off of them.
Since Wang has claimed losses in the millions for the last few seasons, not allowing the Islanders to turn a profit might not be the best way to keep the team’s owner happy. If the Islanders leave Long Island and an investor does not step up to the plate, then it is also likely that the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum will have to meet its demise at some point in time. Even though venues are still booked at the NVMC, the facility is far from being a state of the art venue and would struggle to maintain operations without the Isles as their primary tenant since the County rarely dips into their coffers to fix the arena.
The state of the NVMC is a point that can be discussed at various lengths, but the bigger issue is what the County will do if the Coliseum ceases to be operational. Demolishing the Coliseum won’t be such a light task for Nassau County’s residents either as it will be the county tax payer who will have to fork over the money necessary to take down the arena. While County politicians will probably drag their feet when it comes to any issues that involves keeping the Islanders on Long Island, the average Nassau County resident will pay the most in the long run if the Islanders leave.
The New York Islanders might be stuck in a very grave predicament, but it should come as no surprise to hockey fans if Charles Wang decides to move his franchise to an area where feuding politicians won’t meddle with the team’s future. The Islanders deserve better than what Nassau County is currently giving them and having a County politician “renew” their interest in “Saving the Isles” because of their upcoming reelection campaign is now becoming more transparent than ever. Nassau County might not think too much of a potential departure of Long Island’s only professional sports franchise, but the County is already in financial despair, what do you think will happen if the area loses its only guaranteed revenue-generating tenant?
I appreciate your devotion to the team, but this is more than an Islander’s deal, it is a real estate transaction and business management issue. The County will make money when something appropriate is built and paying taxes. And as for Wang, when he bought the team he went in blind. His losses are not due to an old arena, but rather to horrific management and ego. Bringing people in that don’t know a thing about managing a professional franchise and letting them run loose is his lose and should not be compensated by taxpayers. The Islander’s need a new owner that can build a winning management team and draft some elite marquee talent on the ice to rebuild the team and start winning. That could take years, but it needs to be done along with the team’s reinvestment as part of Long Island’s culture. And please, don’t tell me that great players wont come to an aging facility, they will play where they are paid to lead a dynasty back from oblivion. With paid attendance around 20%, the team needs to rebuild the once prolific Islander fan base. Wang has pushed fans away with costs increases and other bad business decisions. This is not about Nassau County politics, its about ego and attitude. Wang keeps threatening to take the team to another city, but how many places really want a team with so little cache? The value of the Islanders is not established in a state of the art facility, but rather winning games. The Islanders need a fresh start with new vision and investment – that is the business of professional sports, not taxpayers.
Winning absolutely comes first. Surrounding oneself with good management can absolutely help a team flourish, but you can’t just ignore the fact that Nassau County has acted like a slumlord when it comes to the Islanders. They make money off of them and when it comes to the Islanders possibly leaving, then none of these politicians want to really step up to the plate, especially when their possibility of making a dollar off of the Isles is severely threatened. Maybe Charles Wang did go in on a blind buy, but lets not forget that he also saved this team by purchasing them at the turn of the century. If Nassau County politicians feel that Wang’s plans to beautify the area and make an honest profit are “too grandiose” then why haven’t these same politicians tried to have a sit down with Wang to come up with an economically feasible plan for both sides? Putting a winning product on the ice and in the management circle absolutely matters, but you can’t look at the situation from a distance and not say that NC politics has thwarted the potential growth of this team at least twice in the last 5 years.
I really do not like being an unpleasant person but honestly do you guess or simply not do any research before writing? There is the regular lease until 2015 that the gives Smg all Islander parking, concessions, eleven percent of Islander ticket revenue, and forty percent of all Islander advertising, then there is the Dec 2009 negotiated sublease Wang (perhaps Scott Rechler) signed days before Tom Suozzi left office where Wang (perhaps Rechler) pay installments yearly totaling 17 million dollars until 2015 that gives Wang (perhaps Rechler) some management control of the Coliseum booking plus all revenue from Islander games (parking, concessions, ticket revenue, advertising) with all Coliseum events. They can opt out of that sublease which would also allow Wang to leave entirely right now but he has to pay his full lease and sublease through 2015, Nassau has to approve.