NO THREATS FROM BETTMAN
Commish in line with Wang’s refusal to go negative
Even when the NHL commissioner speaks about the Lighthouse Project, it’s clear that Charles is in charge.
This was Gary Bettman with reporters yesterday at the Coliseum, when asked what happens if Charles Wang and Scott Rechler do not get a deal to transform the arena and surrounding property:
“I don’t want to have that conversation. This team has a great history and tradition here, and this team needs a new arena. My hope and expectation is they’re going to get it. The focus is not about threats or what could happen. It’s not that I’m not denying it. I’m not confirming it. All we’re thinking is: ‘How does this team get its arena as quickly as possible?”
Understand how this likely worked. The NHL commissioner, along with General Colin Powell, were guests in Charles Wang’s suite for the game. When it was decided Bettman would be available to the media at intermission, no question he and Wang had a discussion about how the league should play this one. It may very well have gone something like this:
“Charles, do I even hint at the possibility of you losing patience and having to consider alternatives”?
Despite the economy, I would not lose sleep over Wang and Rechler’s ability to acquire financing for the project. I would not be concerned about the Islanders owner ever pulling a Bob Irsay-Baltimore move, lease or not.
The Town of Hempstead and the County of Nassau getting its act together? That, I don’t think anyone could ever guarantee.
39 Responses to NO THREATS FROM BETTMAN
Commish in line with Wang’s refusal to go negative
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Josh says:
Well, one would have to think that the virtually unprecedented economy has/will have some influence on the county’s already conservative fiscal-policies, not to mention the ability to secure any financing from anybody.
How about we promise T. Boone a windfarm off of Jones Beach if he gives us a billion dollars? heh.
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Absolutely agree mrlbem, there is something going on behind the scenes. While I don’t live in Uniondale or any of the immediate surrounding areas, I can’t see any problem with the entire Lighthouse project being approved. Wang and Rechs want to pay for it, it’ll create a ton of jobs and increase tax revenue to the towns. Is it that Wanger hasn’t greased enough palms for this to be a done deal or “our representatives” looking into “our best interests.” What the F is the hold up. Botts, please give us an idea of what’s holding this up and I’m sure we, as fans, can do our best to get this thing moving, we are in fact the voice of the people. Give us some names and/or municipalities that are telling Wang and Rechs to hang out while they decide on what to do with this thing.
There is something going on and we, as taxpayers, should know the deal. -
Willis says:
“I would not be concerned about the Islanders owner ever pulling a Bob Irsay-Baltimore move, lease or not.”
lol, you’ve said things like that before….the Bailey thing comes to mind..
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admin says:
I love ya Willis. Look forward to your review of the stuff I got right, and had first. LOL. And I’m also not too sure Bailey should be anywhere right now except with his junior club. What’s he gaining from this experience? CB
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cgs878 says:
Have you guys been in traffic on Hempstead Turnpike at 5pm?? It’s awful in the area of the NVMC, even on non-matinee game days. I think that the extra traffic that the Lighthouse would generate is one of the major issues.
IMO, it’s the “what’s in it for me” attitude of our local governments on Long Island that is killing the large projects. The Town of Hempstead wants X, Nassau County wants Y, and Wang/Rechler/Bettman want Z. Fans “just” want a winning team and a good overall experience at the NVMC/Lighthouse.
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doug says:
we’re #30
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Stumpy32 says:
Let’s not think that Uniondale is any different from the NYC area at large. Do you know how long the Yankees and Mets were trying to get a new stadium? The Jets and Giants? Devils? It takes years to do this, especially where scores of community groups fight any incursion onto what they deem their “turf.” Hell, look at Brooklyn. The Nets should have been there yesterday, but because of groups fighting it, even a guy as powerful in the real estate industry as Ratner is having an awful time getting anything done. The guy wanted to build a Target-anchored B-level mall a few years back, and that alone took forever to build.
It takes time. Long Island, like most of the NYC area, doesn’t move all that fast in the face of red tape. Certainly, the current state of the economy doesn’t help, but the infighting in the Town of Hempstead has been going on far longer than the market crash.
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Isles4Life says:
Hey everyone, been reading since day 1, first time commenting. I have a freind who works for Nassau County and is involved in planning. When I spoke with a month or 2 ago, he said he believes the project will get done. However, its in a sort of trade-off stage now. Basically, “We’ll do this for you, but you need to do this for us.” He also said that important framework (either plumbing/sewage or water, need to double check with him on this one) was missing from the plans. Furthermore,from what I understood, there are parts the county wants developed that arent on the plans. They dont want a bunch of different developers involved in those areas, but rather one cohesive unit. When I speak with him this weekend, I will see if I can get more details and relay them here. Keep up the good work CB.
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Pat says:
The solution is that Bettman, Wang, Town of Hempstead and Nassau County all hire Park Strategies – the lobbying firm headed by former Senator Al D’Amato. So long as Al is getting paid – things will get done. This is one key guy who has to get some payment. Senator Pothole has reach into the Town and the County. He has a prior relationship with Wang ( served on the Board of CA) – and Bettman has money….making him attractive to Sen. Pothole.
The Town government is a bunch of nincompoops who only understand $$$$$$ put in their till. Just look at the history of Town and County politics.
Liquid Cash – in the right hands – will win the day.
That’s what its all about. The government does not care what is good for the citizens – they care about what is good for them.
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Haha, good to know you’re right here, CB!
I didn’t see the game yesterday but at this point my feeling is what is the harm in letting him play a few games? He’s gone thru the training and made the club “presumably” on his efforts to play Gordon’s style and fit in with the big boys. May as well reward him with the taste he’s probably been dying for. If nothing else he gets to see a few things he probably wouldn’t have and can start to visualize himself playing at that level more realistically (my opinion). I wouldn’t keep him up too much longer though.
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TP says:
Enough already!! Ship or get off the pot. This is taking way too long considering it was needed at least 7 years ago. Wang wants his Wangland and is willing to pay most of it and still Nassau/Hempstead is worried about traffic etc? Build another damn lane on the road! Put a monorail or train stop in! Or move them to Queens or Brooklyn…JUST DO SOMETHING ALREADY!!!
I’ve seen whole towns get developed faster than this 1 project is taking!! -
Dmarie says:
Well he (bettmen)is right about one thing (at least)the team does have history here. Bettmen is great at dodging the issues at hand, isn’t he? And reading around the NHL just about everyone has rough things to say about this man.
But I do hope he’s real in saying he too wants this team to get a new Arena to play in..c’mon! the guys deserve it! the fans who pay for games/tickets/ deserve it! the County will benefit from it, I think with times the way they are it would be a step in the direction the government wants to stimulate the economy..I wish the government would stimulate my paycheck..lol! but that’s another story. I hope it goes down soon and we have a New Arena. -
The huge hold-up right now is environmental review, which is sadly mandated by state law. Friends of mine put an extension on their house upstate a few years ago, and you wouldn’t believe the kind of asinine questions they asked them about it. Hopefully we’re on track to break ground in the summer.
That being said, the ridiculous bureaucracy and different layers of government in this area make it very easy to lose accountability. Seems to me at times that everyone is blaming everyone else. I’m no big fan of Nassau County, but let’s not forget they approved this project 2 years ago and then sent it to the Town of Hempstead for negotiations. The Town has been sitting on this for a year and a half before they decided to have hearings, and anyone I talk to is noncommittal at best. The height of the buildings will be a concern, but, and this is a direct adaptation of something someone from TOH told me, it could work as long as “it doesn’t look like Lefrak City.”
I agree with the previous comment about traffic, because it’s absolutely infuriating. I can’t understand why NIMBYism has taken root to such an insane degree on Long Island when drastic changes are clearly needed. People are crying about traffic, and then they cry about a mass transit solution because of who knows what spurious argument. Either we need to work out a deal or certain groups need to be told to shut up in order to move this thing forward.
Let’s hope, though, that enough has been done for the renovations to start in the summer (the Coliseum isn’t subject to environmental review because it’s not new construction). If things are moving forward we will likely see more incentive to make a deal. I live near the Bellmore Army Base, which has been empty for 12 years, so believe me when I say the Town of Hempstead is perfectly comfortable doing nothing if nobody pays attention and stays on top of the situation.
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Correction, the Army Base had an agreement to be re-developed 12 years ago…It’s been empty for 18.
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Gary says:
When the politicians are content standing around with their heads up their butts doing nothing it is very hard to dislodge them. What we need is for people to run against those incompetent fools and maybe they’ll listen.
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How is Bettman dodging the issue? Do you think he can do anything about the town of hempstead? Of course he wants us to get a new arena. He wants the league to thrive.
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bCarey says:
ONE WORD: GRUMMAN
just build it in suffolk. riverhead town just approved a 35-story INDOOR SKI MOUNTAIN in calverton. you telling me a year-round cash cow like an arena would not get approved? the land is there and there are multiple main roadways leading to the site.
i know this will never happen because of the logistics of relocating a financially troubled franchise 50 miles further away from the closest metropolis, but i bet you wang would have an easier time getting it passed. if it is not approved by mid-2009, they have to explore other options.
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Seriously, and I’m not flaming you, if you know it’s unrealistic why bother mentioning it? The best thing we Isles fans can do is get behind this project 100% because it’s the best hope for us to still have a team in 10 years.
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Nick,
Other than signing your petition, what can we do? I’m all for phoning/writing to my representative, but I don’t know where to go with it. Do we bombard TOH? Nassau County? David Patterson? Give us some direction. I think that some of us that thought this would get pushed through are fed up with waiting and are ready to act. I’ve got my phone and writing utensil ready. Just give the word.
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Derek, thanks for asking…Let me make a couple calls and we’ll see what the best thing to do is. It’s kind of a weird situation because there’s not much we can do, outside what you said in your post, until the public comments begin sometime in the next couple of months. Thanks for asking and let’s see what we can do.
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Scouts? says:
If I may make a suggestion, write to opinion pages of local newspapers as well as to politicians. When writing or contacting politicians and media on the lighthouse, stress the positive economic impact of developing in Uniondale as oppossed to “Save the Islanders”. Politicians need/want something to boast about for reelection and donations, and adding jobs and helping to pump capital into Long Island in these uncertain economic times is something that they can put into their campaign commercials.
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Nick, I mention it to compare legislatures. Large projects are getting done in Suffolk and not in Nassau. I was just commenting on this and providing an alternative scenario. I don’t see the harm in that. No one wants the team to relocate to Kansas City, Las Vegas, Portland or wherever else. If the Lighthouse falls through, and relocation becomes an option, I think Wang would be wise to explore other options in the area. That’s all I was saying.
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Tony says:
I’ve been an Isles fan since 1980 and I wouldn’t blame Wang for moving the team elsewhere. This delay is so ridiculous.
I would prefer a brand new arena rather than refurbishing NVMC. This is a temporary solution. A new arena wouldn’t cost so much more and would last a lot longer.
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I disagree Tony. Of course it’s a matter of preference, but there is nothing like watching a game at the old barn. I’ve sat in many venues from the old Cap Center to (U of)Michigan Stadium with 111,000 fans during homecoming, nothing compared to the Coliseum in 2002, I could only imagine what it would be like if they were in the Cup Finals now or back in the 80′s.
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Chris TMC says:
Tony, you dont realize what this plan entails. The place is being gutted. Completely. The plan is NOT to “refurbish” NVMC. This is no paint job. They are using the foundation of the building- and really not much else- for some very good reasons: (A) gutting and rebuilding a building is more environmentally friendly and they need to be able to demonstrate that they are leaving less of a carbon footprint (which is a factor in these environmental studies) and (B) because if its still technically the same building, they have far more freedom and are not subjected to stringent environmental reviews for new buildings (C)-much less of a factor- they like the idea of still having some sort of connection to the teams history.
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kevin says:
good for isles and bad for bria burke. go to tsn for full read on burke
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Michael says:
what i dont understand, is when they break ground on this project if it is approved, where exactly are they going to play in the meantime? They are going to have to start there season out on the road or something because I doubt this can all be finished in the span of one off-season.
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ron says:
kevin,
if you think Wang is “crazy” enough to fire Snow and hire Burke, then you’re living a dream. face it, Snow is here to stay (unfortunately).as for the lighthouse, this topic Only infuriates me. We need a clear answer right away. The Lighthouse website gives vague updates and i’m losing patience.
alright, town of hempstead. i’ll work for free. i have a shovel and a fresh pot of coffee brewing. i don’t require any healthcare and any accidents that occur on site will be my own fault…JUST APPROVE OUR LIGHTHOUSE, ALREADY.
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They have said that they are going to rebuild it in stages and do it over more than one offseason in the summers.
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lmao, ron i wasnt saying wang should hire burke lol i was just saying that he is not gm any more. lmao i should of clarified it
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i would def come down to help if allowed. btw im probably one of the few isles fans that like snow
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many apologies, kevin.
i tend to over-analyze. -
Smee says:
The NVMC is made of reinforced concrete so tearing it down would require disposing of all that concrete and rebar. As for the refurb, Wang said they would do the lower bowl first followed by the upper sections the next off season and yes they would start the season on the road.
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I imagine this has been discussed enough, and decided against, but wouldn’t the better alternative to playing on the road the first 10 or so games of the season, and rushing through the renovations in a couple off-seasons be playing one season at MSG or in Newark? I don’t love the idea either, and we’d probably draw flies, but we could survive a year there, let the season ticket holders off the hook for the year (guarantee them the same seats in the new place even if they don’t pony up for season tix in MSG/Newark), and get it done quicker. I don’t care what anyone says – we’ll be playing in a construction site for 2 years, and that can’t possibly be good for either attendance or the experience of going to a game. Just get it done, send the Isles away for a year, and move forward. Hell, the Yankees played at Shea for 2 years – and that was far more of a stepdown in venue than we’d ever have.
It makes more sense if you get past the initial aversion to it.
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Good points, Stumpy… but Im pretty sure they already thought of that… and if they are instead planning to do it as stated, it is probably because the option you suggest is not available to them. MSG isnt going to want to give up all the other things that take place at MSG just to host our games. They also have basketball. Tell you the truth, if the Isles were going to play anywhere else in the manner you suggest Id want them to play in Newark.
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DP's Hip says:
The arena can get done and approved. The little city? Taxpayer land, MAJOR headaches for local residents and the land, businesses and everything goes to…….Charles Wang.
Sorry. Talk about land grab all because the arena updating won’t get done?Right now, Wang can finance and complete just the arena project and it would be approved to my knowledge without issue. Wang won’t do this.
I hope he sells. Period. The team likely is not a priority, and likely won’t be given his performance as owner/meddler. So if by chance he gets his billions in real estate and holdings on taxpayer owned (or once owned) land, the County gets tax revenue, the fans get the same operation of the team with Wang only getting bolder and we have traffic that would make seeing the team unpleasant I bet. The NVMC has 2,000 more seats and here’s the kicker:
Al D’Amato, who worked for CA AND SMG probably gets SMG on board with the new arena. The SMG deal expires in 2015 unless renewed as a condition of Sen. Pothole’s assistance. D’Amato did arrange to get Wang after Gutkowski, who tried to get rid of SMG, was blocked by SMG, and who was turned down by Wang for partnership in owning the Isles, left the table.
So what gets better? Wang’s bottom line. Ticket prices should go up like with every new arena, Chris Dey and Garth Snow are still employed, ridiculous deals are still possible by Wang, the drafting likely won’t improve, the players coming to LI? With Snow and Wang’s management?
Just do the arena upgrade and put a good team on the ice to show you’re sincere, Chuck.
And if you change the name, I hope veterans show you the appreciation you would deserve.
If only the SEC got Wang, too…..ugh.
“(A) gutting and rebuilding a building is more environmentally friendly and they need to be able to demonstrate that they are leaving less of a carbon footprint (which is a factor in these environmental studies) and (B) because if its still technically the same building, they have far more freedom and are not subjected to stringent environmental reviews for new buildings”——who writes this stuff?
carbon footprint? Is the new building giving off emissions? The environmental impact tudies are the same, the structural integrity is still the same regardless of existing facade……who are you, TMC? Does it rain on your planet? Are they friendly? The exoskeleton is new, the foundation is amended to support more weight/structure, the only reason to keep the old is to maintain useability. It’s cheaper if the structure can be lifted and modified with additional support and new bearing walls erected.
The NVMC is an afterthought to Wang IMHO…..but hey, I don’t want any of this to go through until SMG and hopefully Wang are out of the picture for good.
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Go4HockeyFan says:
Go Islanders. Tavares looked great last night.
I was traveling a lot to Denver on business in the early 90′s and was there when the City was awarded the franchise that became the Rockies. I was amazed at the speed at which Coors Field was constructed. Then in short order, the City also got a new stadium for the Broncos and a new arena for the Avalanche and Nuggets to replace McNichols Arena. Flash forward several years and the same thing happens in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. So you think, well, maybe it’s just difficult to get things done in the NY metro area. Ahem. You know the rest. New stadiums for the Mets and Yankees, a new stadium for the Jets and Giants (even though there’s nothing wrong with the current one that I can see) and a new arena for the Devils. I don’t understand the hold up here. Is it corruption? Is it rampant behind the scenes nimby-ism? Why can’t someone from either the Lighthouse Group or the Town just explain what is taking so long?