Islanders moving to Brooklyn beginning in 2015-16 season
The Islanders are heading for Brooklyn.
The New York Islanders announced during a Wednesday press conference that they will move to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., for the 2015-16 season. The Islanders will then share the building with the NBA's Brooklyn Nets.
Isles owner Charles Wang said the team has agreed to a 25-year lease. The team's current lease with Nassau Coliseum, on Long Island, runs out after the 2014-15 NHL season.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Islanders general manager Garth Snow, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Barclays Center majority owner and developer Bruce Ratner, Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz and Barclays Center and Brooklyn Nets CEO Brett Yormark were all present at the announcement.
"Brooklyn is big time and now we have the big league sports to prove it," Bloomberg said.
Wang said the team will not change any part of its name.
"We are the New York Islanders," he said.
The Islanders had been seeking a new arena on Long Island for a many years. A Wang-proposed for a privately funded multibillion-dollar development of housing, retail and a new arena met with community opposition, and Nassau County voters also rejected a $400 million proposal for a bond-funded new arena, in August 2001.
"It will be tough leaving such a historic building on Long Island, but we need a new rink and Barclays is a state-of-the-art facility that will be a great home for us," Islanders winger Matt Moulson told ESPNNewYork.com via text message. "I hope the fans that have stood by this team through good and bad times continue to support us on our quest for the Stanley Cup."
