Ratner to revamp Coliseum, my last bother departs

By Joe Pantorno

Ratner's plan looks like a toilet seat.

A bout with a stomach bug and flipping burgers at the beach apparently is enough to keep me away for a few days, so I'm going to be less newsy and more opinionated. 

Two days ago, the Forest City Ratner group's bid was selected by Nassau County and the Town of Hempstead (boo, hiss, boo) to renovate the Nassau Coliseum. The plan is to completely redo the old barn, creating a 13,000 seat venue that will house everything from Monster Truck rallies to basketball games to concerts. 

What it won't have is New York Islanders hockey, therefore I don't care what gets put there. I'm pleased that it creates jobs and none of this "comes out of the taxpayers wallets," but there should be one main tenant and it should be the Islanders. 

Charles Wang fought for 10 years with the county and this Kate Murray woman, basically dumping his own money annually just to keep the team afloat and in a deteriorating Coliseum. Can't blame him for getting out of there. Obviously Murray never watched a hockey game in her life and didn't know how much the Isles mean to the community. 

Think about it, and I could be wrong here, but other than the Green Bay Packers, what team is truly more local, more devoted to a community than the Islanders? They're the only true Long Island team. Brooklyn and Queens are their own separate entities and those people will agree with me too. Players were always out visiting schools and hospitals and shops, local businesses had a chance to work with the team and they were always there for a good cause. It was like a mom and pop run organization. It was familiar and we loved it. 

That's all gone in a year. They'll be off to Brooklyn as some Public Relations nightmare scheme will try and make them big time, gut the team of their Long Island roots and try to appeal a brand to these women's-jean-wearing, horn-rimmed glassed hipsters with their stupid hats, bow ties and suspenders.

They won't like the Islanders like I do, or anyone else on this Island does. The Islanders ARE Long Island. 

There's a boat load of Ranger fans here too, which always made the rivalry more exhilarating for us out here and it even gave them a chance to see their team a few times a year. Sure, they had their comments about the building and made their runs at us, but we were there for them whether we like it or not. 

That rivalry is going to lose something here. Our fan base is going to diminish here. We all just can't get onto a train and go to Brooklyn on a weeknight. A quick ride down Hempstead Turnpike and I was home.

 

Yes, we had a chance with the referendum in 2011, but there's more crotchety old folks and hockey haters here to win the vote. When the word change came up there was a possibility of taxes rising, they came out in droves and shut it down. Didn't matter if every Islander fan came out and voted yes, we weren't winning. 

In Ratner's proposal it says six Islanders games will be played at the new Coliseum. But here's the kicker: preseason OR regular season. Which means there will be four preseason games and two regular season tilts against bum out of conference opponents like the Predators and Avalanche. 

But it's fine, I'll go with it and pretend to be thankful for six games a year in my rightful home where I should watch my hockey team play all 82 of their games. 

Thanks Ms. Murray, thanks town of Hempstead, I hope your master plan falls apart and that place just rots.