Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | |
|---|---|
| The Coliseum | |
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| Location | 1255 Hempstead Turnpike, Uniondale, New York |
| Opened | 1972 |
| Owner | Nassau County, New York |
| Operator | SMG Management |
| Construction cost | $31 million (USD) |
| Architect | N/A |
| Tenants | |
| New York Islanders (NHL) (1972-present) New York Dragons (AFL) (2001-present) New York Titans (NLL) (2007-present) New York Nets (ABA) (1972-1977) New York Arrows (MISL) (1978-1984) New York Express (MISL) (1986-1987} New York Saints (NLL) (1989-2001) |
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| Capacity | |
| 16,234 (hockey) |
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The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, commonly known as Nassau Coliseum (or simply The Coliseum), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, on Long Island. The Coliseum is 19 miles (30 km) from New York City. It is home to the New York Islanders National Hockey League team and the New York Dragons Arena Football League team. In 2007 it will also be home to four of the New York Titans National Lacrosse League team's eight home games (along with Madison Square Garden).
The Coliseum occupies 63 acres (255,000 m²) of Mitchel Field, site of a former Army and Air Force base.
The New York Raiders, intended by the fledging World Hockey Association to be their flagship franchise, was initially slated to play in the brand-new Nassau Coliseum. However, Nassau County didn't consider the WHA a professional league and wanted nothing to do with the Raiders. Nassau County retained William Shea to get an NHL team to play in the new building. The NHL responded by hastily awarding a franchise to Long Island--the New York Islanders, which forced the Raiders to play in the Madison Square Garden under the shadow of the New York Rangers.
The Coliseum was home of the New York Saints National Lacrosse League team from 1998-2003, but the Saints became an inactive team in 2004. Earlier, the Coliseum had hosted the New York Arrows and later the New York Express of the original Major Indoor Soccer League. Before that, the Coliseum had been home to the New York Nets basketball team of the American Basketball Association and later the National Basketball Association from 1972-1977. The Coliseum has also hosted first and second round games of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, most recently in 2001.
The Coliseum is also used for concerts, large exhibitions and shows of various kinds, as well as trade shows (44,000 square feet at the main arena, 60,000 at the Expo Center). Long Island native Billy Joel is one of the Coliseum's most prolific tenants, holding multiple shows at his hometown arena over the course of his tours. For a time in the mid-nineties, he even had his own "retired number" banner, along with those of Islander greats, hanging from the rafters to commemorate his many Coliseum sellouts. New Jersey rocker Bruce Springsteen also played a memorable New Year's Eve concert at The Coliseum in 1981. Certain songs from the concert were used on is 1986 live album Live/1975-85.
The Nassau Coliseum opened in 1972 and previously hosted minor league hockey prior to the awarding of the Islanders franchise, a gimmick brought back in 2005, when the Islanders-affiliated Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) played two "home games" at the Coliseum in the absence of NHL hockey due to the lockout. It originally had a capacity of 12,000 to 15,000 depending upon the event, but in the early 1980s the maximum capacity was increased to around 18,000. Currently it seats 16,234 for hockey, up to 17,760 for concerts and 17,686 for boxing and wrestling.
Despite the obvious flaws of the outdated facility, the Coliseum is still considered to be one of the toughest arenas for opposing players, primarily because of the intensity of the crowd noise that echoes around the interior. For example, during the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in 2002, in which the Islanders squared off against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Islanders won all three games played at home in a series dominated by home-ice advantage, as Toronto won all four of their home games.
[edit] Redevelopment
The Coliseum is currently the third-oldest arena in active use by an NHL team (after Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena and Madison Square Garden,) and is generally considered to be obsolete. Knowing that the arena was deteriorating, officials announced in 2004 an ambitious plan to renovate the coliseum, instead of building a whole new arena. The centerpiece of the project would be a 60 story tower designed to look like a lighthouse. Other plans include new housing units (including affordable housing units), athletic facilities, a new minor league baseball stadium, restaurants, and a new hotel. The project would also include trees, water and other natural elements to the area to replace the sea of concrete plus adding many other things to the area, at a projected overall cost of approximately $200 million..[1]
Due to public complaints, and the 2004-05 NHL lockout, little progress has been made on this proposal. This has led the Islanders to discuss building a new arena in neighboring Suffolk County. Other possibilities may include Brooklyn, where the Nets are building an arena, or leaving the metropolitan area outright.
[edit] Trivia
- The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum was host to the first portion of the World Wrestling Federation's WrestleMania 2 in 1986 and SummerSlam in 2002.
- During the New York Islanders run of four consecutive Stanley Cup Championships in the early-1980's, Nassau Coliseum was proudly referred to as "Fort Neverlose" by fans of the team.
- Lately, fans of rival teams have started using the moniker "Nassau Mausoleum" to describe the deteriorating conditions of the building.
- Due to the crosstown rivalry between the Islanders and Rangers who play in the same conference and division, the arena is often nicknamed "Garden East", as Rangers fans often make up 50% of the attendance during these rivalry games. Of the other New York City major league sports teams, MLB's Yankees and Mets are in different leagues and the NFL's Jets and Giants are in different conferences, giving them little opportunity to play each other.
- Pink Floyd recorded and filmed their concert film and album Delicate Sound of Thunder at the Coliseum in August of 1988. The Coliseum was also one of only two US venues chosen to perform in their limited run of shows in support of their 1979 album The Wall in February of 1980. One of the shows was filmed and bootlegged and has been traded back and forth by fans for years.
- This arena was given the nickname "Bust Palace" in 1972, for all of the drug arrests at all of the Rock concerts held there, according to talk show host Alex Bennett.
- During various times throughout the summer, Jehovah's Witnesses, use the arena to hold their annual District Conventions.
- Both Phish and the Grateful Dead frequently played here and have both released live albums recorded at Nassau: the Grateful Dead (Go To Nassau), Phish (4-2-98, 4-3-98, 2-28-03 of the Live Phish Series).
- Scenes for 2007's Music and Lyrics starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore were filmed at the arena.
- The parking fields are often used from March through October for Autocross events by such auto clubs like: The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), The BMW Car Club of America (BWMCCA) NY chapter, and The Porsche Club of America (PCA). These events take place usually in Lot 8 on Saturdays and Sundays from 9AM till 3-5PM. The events are open to anyone with roadworthy automobile (although club membership garners lower entrance fees).
[edit] Reference
| Preceded by Island Garden 1969–1971 |
Home of the New York Nets 1971–1977 |
Succeeded by Rutgers Athletic Center 1977–1981 |
| Preceded by first arena |
Home of the New York Islanders 1972–present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by Madison Square Garden |
Host of WrestleMania 2 w/ Rosemont Horizon & L.A. Sports Arena 1986 |
Succeeded by Pontiac Silverdome |
| Current arenas in the Arena Football League |
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| American Conference | National Conference | |
|---|---|---|
| Allstate Arena | EnergySolutions Arena | HP Pavilion | Nashville Arena | Orleans Arena | Pepsi Center | Staples Center | US Airways Center | Van Andel Arena | American Airlines Center | Amway Arena | Frank Erwin Center | Kemper Arena | Nassau Coliseum | Nationwide Arena | New Orleans Arena | Philips Arena | St. Pete Times Forum | Wachovia Center1 | Wachovia Spectrum2 | |
| 1The Philadelphia Soul play Sunday home games at the Wachovia Center. 2The Philadelphia Soul play Saturday home games at the Wachovia Spectrum. |
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| Current arenas in the National Lacrosse League | ||
| Eastern Division | Western Division | |
|---|---|---|
| Air Canada Centre | Blue Cross Arena | HSBC Arena | Madison Square Garden1 | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum2 | Sears Centre | Wachovia Center | Xcel Energy Center | HP Pavilion | Jobing.com Arena | Pengrowth Saddledome | Pepsi Center | Rexall Place | Rose Garden Arena | |
| 1The New York Titans play four of their home games at Madison Square Garden. 2The New York Titans play four of their home games at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. |
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Categories: 1972 establishments | American Basketball Association venues | Indoor arenas in the United States | Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States | Convention centers in the United States | Arena football venues | New York Islanders | National Hockey League venues | Sports venues in Long Island | Town of Hempstead, New York | Indoor lacrosse venues in the United States | Sports venues in New York
