The Islanders and their supporters want a “Yes” vote on the new arena proposal scheduled for August 1st in Nassau County to retain Long Island's only professional sports team. A Yes means that the Islanders stay where they are until 2045 and Long Island will have its own premiere sports complex to view Sporting contests, Concerts and Events beyond the end of the Isles lease in 2015. Today at 11 a.m., Islanders Management and County Officials held a press conference to offer full disclosure on the plans for a new arena and development on the site of the Nassau Coliseum.
Brian Compton of NHL.com reported that an Independent economist, hired to look over the plan, projects arena would generate $1.2 billion and Newsday is reporting that the Islanders Organization will have paid Nassau County and its tax payers $420 million in profits by 2045. About this, Mangano added, "This is a true public/private partnership that our economic experts say will more than pay for the debt services." He went on to say that "Every pretzel, every hot dog, ticket, the taxpayers of Nassau County will receive a share of the revenue...”
Mangano reminded those gathered that Nassau has raised property tax 42% over last 10 years without any new investment or sources of income. Nassau County is in need of an economic plan to build for the future, an investment in themselves and their community. "There is a very transparent public process here." The public has every opportunity to be involved with this process. A process of revenue sharing that would benefit and sustain both the Islanders and the County. The more the County supports the Islanders, the more they will invest into themselves. Due to the $14M annual rent payment made by the Islanders in the agreement, even in the worst possible scenario, the money is guaranteed to be paid to Nassau County.
Islanders’ Owner, Charles Wang, stated that money spent by the 2 Million people who visit The Coliseum annually "drives jobs not only at the arena but at businesses across LI." Wang went on to say, "the economy is not going to fix itself. We have to make decisions on opportunities that can be a catalyst for improving our lives...” Wang concluded with, "this is not just about me, it's about my kids and our kids future" and "We can not continue to let this go. We need this and we deserve this.”
http://islanders.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=566637
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