NYI COULD TAKE CONTROL OF THE COLISEUM
Suozzi approves sublease between team and SMG
11:30 pm - Newsday reports (subscription needed). Ed Mangano slams “11th-hour deal” pushed through on Christmas Eve by lame duck Broker Suozzi. Wait ’til Peter Schmitt wakes up to the news! I received word late tonight confirming the deal. What does it all mean? Does the deal, as Newsday suggests, help end a long-standing roadblock to the Lighthouse Project? It’s too early to say. What’s the biggest news to come out of this? It’s the latest proof of how determined Charles Wang is to keep the Islanders in Nassau County. This should also get Suozzi that Lighthouse building named after him. Comments.
61 Responses to NYI COULD TAKE CONTROL OF THE COLISEUM
Suozzi approves sublease between team and SMG
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Marc says:
On the surface, this sounds like great news and hopefully enables Wang to cut his losses quickly and get the Lighthouse project moving forward. When is Suozzi’s term over — 12/31?
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JC says:
“According to the agreement, the deal “does not constitute the County’s consent to or approval of any change in control or relocation of the Islanders.”
i could be reading this wrong but it sounds like the Isles can just pick up and move without question. Am I wrong? I hope so!
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Hextall72 says:
Is this good or bad?
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eastonhockey says:
This SMG lease could of been bought out years and years ago..Maybe it was 5 years ago. Wang chose not to, likely because the cost of hiring people to do what SMG does would not make it worth it which is why I never believed the whole “wang loses money due to SMG excuse”. 5 years ago the buyout was roughly 13 million acording to Newsday..so it must be less now. So obviously wang could of gotten rid of SMG years ago if he wanted to.
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bergie20 says:
tom suozzi just gave the isles and wang an enormous christmas present!! it sounds like wang has given up on the lighthouse in exchange for full control and revenue of the coliseum. wow!!!! thank you tom suozzi!! just when we thought the isles were moving to brooklyn! looks like we’re staying in nassau folks.
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examiner says:
Regardless of the sublease or not, doesn’t the team still have to play home games on site until 2015?
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6 – the County is responsible for condemning the lease and buying out SMG, not Wang.
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eric says:
LETS GO ISLANDERS!!!!!
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tom says:
i was at the game tonight. The empty seat in front of me was literally falling apart. The place is a mess, thank god 1 politician actually cares about the islanders, unfortunately his constituents weren’t smart enough to vote for him.
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AJ says:
Confused about what this exactly means to the Islanders and the LHP….
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flying isles again says:
HAPPPY FESTIVUS
It means that we will see Krill petrov playing with tavares in a refurbished colesium named Suozzi-ville come 2011 …COMPLETE WITH BATHROOMS!
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Bob says:
It could be that what SMG was or was not doing including Just last week banning WATER from coming into the coliseum was causing a untenable situation for the Islanders, and left them in the situation that it was now worthwhile to do some work on the building which was not being done.
Do not forget the Islanders just in the last couple of months moved all of their offices to the NVMC from Plainview.
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miket239 says:
SMG is scum. I wouldnt trust ANY company based out of Philly! Especially to run a NY based sports teams lease on the land it plays on!! This is a step in a good direction. Getting to the root of 99% of the Isles problems, SMG is a great start to disconnect from. I cant wait to hear more on this…
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anthony c says:
Does this mean we are gonna have a lighthouse project complete with a totally refurbished nassau coliseum, and all the other pretty things included that will give people new homes they can afford with over 20,000 permanent jobs under our collective christmas tree? It be a christmas miracle. LITERALLY! And if this does all happen i’m gonna go out buy a 12 pack of beer and well ya see where this is going, but for all the right reasons.
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john says:
flyingisles/festivus
2011???? asthey say on the internets bwahahahahah! dream on -
tony c, it sounds like you had a 12 pack already tonite.
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Brendan says:
I don’t get this at all. What does this mean? That Wang now will get all merchandise/food/parking revenues? If so, that’s great news, as ticket, merchandise, food, parking, and cable revenues should make this team a much better fiscally for Wang. But why would SMG forfeit that?
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isles316 says:
just the fact that wang and suozzi did something proactive should make all of us happy. I always loathe paying parking or for food there because it didn’t go to the team I was supporting.
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Ethan K says:
Wang better take that money and reinvest it in the team!
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Ron says:
It’s a step. Whether it’s a good step or a bad step, we’ll have to wait and see. On the surface, this now moots any further “poor me, my lease is bad!” posturing from Wang that we heard over and over in his near-decade as owner. It could mean that he’s willing to make a go of owning a team and an arena without the development around it, or it could be another step towards condemning the lease altogether, making it easier to move the team before 2015. But after months of nothing moving on the Lighthouse, it’s good that SOMETHING is happening.
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Quagmire says:
Not sure why SMG would give up this revenue stream either – but if they are subleasing NVMC to the Isles, that means the Isles are still paying rent to SMG. If the rent the Isles wil pay to SMG is more or less what SMG was making anyway, then this is not as signifcant as it sounds financially for the Isles and may just be procedural for the Isles to take control of renovating the NVMC without the need for SMG’s involvement. I’m sure we’ll hear more about the details from people like CB in cming days (and, of course, not from “Long Island’s Newspaper”).
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isles72 says:
my guess is a deal has been made of some sort , especially if d’amato is still on smg’s board of govs
isles gain control of the lease via sub leasing til 2015 -then become the sole leasee afterwards
wang agrees to downsize project
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Tom says:
Rangers to brooklyn?? lets be serious Eric Nystrom
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eric nystrom says:
Tom.. It was sarcasm meaning why would Brooklyn include room for a hockey team if the Islanders were not moving there.. I know the Rangers are not moving
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Could could could. You had me going CB. I COULD win the Powerball as well. Guess we’ll see if this subleasing story has any legs soon enough…
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Bob says:
Wang doesn’t care about keeping the Isles on the Island, only about real estate development. Why doesn’t he just build a new arena so the fans will know the Isles will remain here, maybe then more fans would go to games. Why spend your hard earned money on a team that probably wont be here.
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doc says:
Yeah BOB… just build a new arena…
Obviously that is what Wang is trying to do… but POLITICIANS have a say in how, where, when it gets done. -
JPinVA says:
I can’t find any details on the deal. My assumption is that this is SMG(D’Amato) standing up for his part of the bargain. I wish somebody would just report the truth about what’s been going on. I most certainly don’t know, but this sure does lead to a ton of speculation.
Can one assume that Nassau/SMG has eased pressure so that Charles can do some things with the team (Promotions/repair the ice surface) while not hemorrhaging money. It would have been nice if they had done it 10 years ago… some day the truth will all come out.(99) -
dose says:
like some others, i am having trouble figuring out what it means. we need a real estate, contract or financial analyst type person here. cincy – where are you?
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brooklyn kevin says:
brooklyn is the only way our beloved it islanders will stay in the metro area..the arena is in a bad location… and is falling apart the islanders cant draw any fans in uniondale… no subways transportation and traffic is a problem for years there! we all have dealt with this for years… time to move on brooklyn islanders…. we have subways the lrr is right in reach for long islanders to attend games perfect fit…
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John from ATL says:
Since I refuse to pay for Newsday on-line, I haven’t read the article. Typical of the Islanders and Long Island, I haven’t been able to find another news outlet with anything on this. And based on the above comments, Newsday did their typical poor job of reporting this story since no one seems to know what this means.
It does sound like Wang has more control over the building and land surrounding the NVMC and that can only be a good thing for Wang and hopefully for the Islanders and their fans. This could give him more leverage to deal with the ToH.
If anyone knows of another news source writing on Suozzi’s going away present to Wang please post it.
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MIkey Pants says:
Chris, just like the others who have already asked, What does this buyout really mean to Wang and the Lighthouse Project?
–Please let me add that whatever happens, I’m really one of people who believes that Mass Transit direct to the site is mandatory but up until now is overlooked. That really should be investigated. That way, a few inches of snow won’t stop peeps from attending….from anywhere!
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YEAH DOC, obviously Wang doesn’t want to build JUST a new arena but a shrine to himself or the Isles would already have a new place to play that would have been approved a long time ago!
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Ed says:
Why Bob, would Wang sink $400-500 million on a new arena without being able to draw revenue from it? A new building doesn’t fix the problems that exist right now, except for adding to Wang’s total debt.
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the bomber says:
at least this will force the hand of all the lighthouse opponents who have been publicly feigning support for the project. now we will find out what side anyone who bitches about suozzi doing this is on. all the greedy SOBs will be flushed out now….
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I wish we can all link to Nick’s site when the Lighthouse is mentioned, that way anyone that doesn’t understand why Wang can’t/won’t/shouldn’t redo the NVMC on his own dime.
I also wish that either CB or Nick would tell us the pros and cons of this thing. I’m still wondering if Mangano can take this off the table when he steps in.
Either way, it sounds like it was a slap in the face of the Republicans by Suozzi, and the way they’ve been running things, I hope he’s got another ready for them.
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LouD says:
Amazing. After all of this time and information regarding the lighthouse project there are still people asking why Wang just didn’t remodel the coliseum. Absolutely amazing. No wonder why no one is at the games,apparantly some Long Islanders get lost on the way around the block.
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vigs says:
I agree with Lou #37. After all that has been written and said, and with informative sites such as Let There Be Lighthouse, how is it there are still so many people who favor just a remodeled Coliseum? I would really like to see this giant rock that these people are living under.
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They’re not living under a rock, they are employed by Kate Murry and have been ordered to repeat her mantra or else!
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Chris A says:
So this means we get a refurbished coliseum? Not really sure what to take from this if im right, a refurbished coliseum is than a vacant
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RobC says:
This doesn’t sound good with Mangano trashing the move by Suozzi.
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Mangano sounds like a whiny brat. He acts like Suozzi shouldn’t do anything on Christmas eve or at all because Mangano thinks he should be the one handeling this. Sounds like messed up, IMHO. Hats off to Suozzi for trying to make things happen at the 11th hour as Mangano put it. If it were up to him we shouldn’t anything until his in office and Suozzi should just sit on his hands.
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If suozzi ever runs for anything in my district, he will get my vote.
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JohnnyC. says:
Lou D #40 & Vigs # 41 Amen. How long have we been talking and people still blame Wang for not renovating an arena not owned by him or not run by him. First thing Wanger should do is drop the price on Beer, Food. I went to Monday nights game & one of the workers at concession was even saying this is a rip-off at the prices they are charging.
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Irish Isle says:
“For years, the SMG contract has been a major stumbling block to developing the Coliseum and surrounding property. Nassau entered into a 30-year lease agreement with SMG of Philadelphia in 1979 and later extended it to 2015.”
This is reason 1A Wang, and previous Islander owners have been hemoraghing money for years. Most franchises gain a large percentage of their profit from concessions and items bought on game day. They stated on wfan last month that the mest lost millions of dollars on tickets that were sold and not used, as they did not get the concessions.
As for problem 1B, they need to get a better cable deal then the one Pickett arranged and hurt future owners with.
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Jim from St James says:
Just read the article on Newsday–
seems to me that Wang told SMG that if the Lighthouse falls through, the teams leaves & SMG looses its biggest moneymaker.
In responce, SMG gave control of the sight back to the isles to insure the tennant stays.
It makes sense, the isles get more from the games, and with a refurbished NVMC, SMG will benefit from all the non-hockey events a new building will bring.
I want to know if the team gets only the NVCM? or the whole 77 acres?
And there has to be a provision in this deal to keep the team from moving.
Happy Holiday! -
Mike L says:
Yeah I can see Wang creating “Suozziville” at the coliseum. Tickets in this section will only be $10, but the tax will be very high.
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I figured out what happened with the lease (confirmed by a lawyer friend of mine), and I’m writing a new quick post about it…
Suozzi didn’t sign a new agreement – Suozzi COMPELLED a sub-lease between SMG and the Islanders/Lighthouse. That means that this is a new contract, has nothing to do with the original County agreement, and therefore it’s only up to the (current) County Executive to sign off.
From my vantage point, Mangano is over a barrel, because he would have to compel the Islanders to voluntarily give up that money, and that just isn’t happening.
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nystrom23 says:
CB, any chance this leads to just a new coliesum all together instead of the lighthouse project being done? if he gets control of the coliesum I would assume that the means the land surrounding which means all revenue
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Stumpy32 says:
I’m adding my name to the group of people that have no clue what this means for the LHP or for the Isles LI future. I assume that Wang can now recover more revenue from the Coliseum, but even with that, does he turn a profit, or better said, a profit that allows him to turn his back on waiting for the TOH to give him approval on any measure of the LHP? I’m just assuming that’s the case…that Wang can glean enough new revenue from having control of the Coliseum to be able to scale down the LHP to a significant enough degree, while upgrading the Coliseum to the level that was to be part of the LHP, to please the TOH. I can’t see any other reason why this news could be important for the Isles staying on LI.
Either way, I personally still think its a huge, huge mistake staying on LI. But its still better than KC.
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Nick says this is a genuis move by Suozzi.
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19 Isle in NJ 22 says:
Verrrryyyy Interesting … but what exactly does this mean? Does this put the Isles ahead of SMG on the food chain?
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geduffer says:
This could be big for the team. I hope this isn’t the end of Suozzi as a political force. We all have to keep the pressure on the crooked Republican politicans (a redundancy for sure) and make sure that we get what we want. Complacency sank the Dems once (mine included). Now we’ve got to go to work to make sure Mangano is a one term CE.
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JoeRiverside says:
Hey geduffer: How about letting Mangano serve at least one day before you call for him being a one-term CE?
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Strummer's Army says:
Souzzi should have a building named after him but Botta should be recognized too, maybe like the Chris Botta Executive Bathroom?
I cannot believe people are still posting stuff like The Isles could have had a new arena a long time ago if Wang wasn’t greedy or didn’t want a bigger deal, a shrine etc.
The county and state have NO MONEY to pay for a new arena. Wang has to pay for the new arena. Wang has already lost tens of millions every year he owned the team, why would he lose another 400-500 million to build an arena? He’d never make his money back. The only way it is economically feasable (Even for a billionaire) is to get the rest of the development so Wang can recoup what he spends. I should say so he can TRY to recoup because no gaurantees in business, especially in this economy. We haven’t even hit the second major round of foreclosures and there is a huge commercial foreclosure event that is coming.
This is why we are so confused when you have someone willing do to so much for the public good with his own cash and with so little from the public funds it’s unreal it wasn’t done long ago.
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stephen says:
We are all scratching our heads about what this means. Some think Charles Wang wants to sell and this deal makes the team more marketable, but CB usually dropps us hints. After reading CB’s post a few times one line sticks out for sure. “It’s the latest proof of how determined Charles Wang is to keep the Islanders in Nassau County.” Botta wouldn’t say this if he thought this was a way for Wang to sell the team. Remember, CB usually knows more than us, or at least has more information to make a better hypothesis. I’m optimistic this move is the best thing for the franchise.
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Eastonhockey says:
Brooklyn wouldn’t work. Non white people mostly aren’t interested in hockey. I just don’t see that working at all.
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stephen, CB also said that the Brooklyn arena has room for a hockey team.. so what’s that mean? I don’t really care where the Isles play as long as it’s in NY..
Any word on what SMG gets out of this deal? What’s their incentive? Is it not losing their biggest tenant? A very interesting twist indeed.