The Coliseum site has been the target of numerous groups for development and nothing has happened.
The Las Vegas Sands is the latest group of investors who would like to develop the 77-acre plot of land in Uniondale, New York that surrounds the 51-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 hosts the NBA’s G League Long Island Nets and the National Lacrosse League’s New York Riptide and some concerts and wrestling shows. The building is 13 miles east of the Islanders arena at Belmont Park which opened two year ago. That building has hockey, concerts and some mass transportation while the old building has a big parking lot with some buses running nearby. For decades developers have wanted to develop some of the 77 acres of property on the land Nassau County owns where the Coliseum sits. Howard Milstein and Steven Gluckstern bought the Islanders in 1998 with the thought of building an arena-village. The plan fell apart.
The Las Vegas Sands confirmed it paid $241 million in June to acquire the leasing rights to the Coliseum and its surrounding grounds. The Las Vegas Sands would like to put a casino on the property. New York State has 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. Major League Baseball’s New York Mets owner Steve Cohen would like to build a casino next to his Queens baseball stadium. The Las Vegas Sands may not want to keep the Coliseum around. The initial plan is 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 for the Coliseum property.
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