The building sits empty most of the time.
What becomes of the Nassau County arena that is just open occasionally for minor league indoor football games and college graduations? That is what Nassau County, New York officials are trying to figure out. The Las Vegas Sands Corporation has pulled out of its bid to land a gaming license for a casino on the Nassau Coliseum property and that has left Nassau County officials to ponder the next move. The Las Vegas Sands Corporation was the latest group of investors who wanted to develop the 77-acre plot of land in Uniondale that surrounds the 53-year-old Nassau Coliseum. The building at one time housed the National Hockey League’s New York Islanders and the American and National Basketball Association’s New York Nets. It is pretty much a ghost town. The building is 13 miles east of the Islanders arena at Belmont Park. That building has hockey, concerts and some mass transportation. For decades speculators have wanted to develop on the property that the County owns. Howard Milstein and Steven Gluckstern bought the Islanders franchise in 1998 with the thought of building an arena-village. The plan fell apart.
The Las Vegas Sands Corporation paid $241 million in June 2023 to acquire the leasing rights to the Coliseum and its surrounding grounds. The Las Vegas Sands wanted to put a casino on the property. New York State announced that it is offering three downstate casino licenses, one in Westchester County just north of New York City, another in New York City and one on Long Island. The Las Vegas Sands did not seem to want to keep the Coliseum around. The initial plan was to build a casino village that would include a 4,500-seat concert hall, two hotel towers and three parking garages. It is just the latest plan that has fallen apart.
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