August 2nd, 2011, By Dana Haugh
Around 100,000 Nassau County voters flocked to the polls yesterday to cast their ballot on the proposal for a new Coliseum– and the majority of residents decided they like their Coliseum just the way it is. Sixty percent of voters rejected the plans for renovation, which was going to include a minor league ballpark and convention center, fearing the tax hike and added financial burden in the already struggling economy. A heartbroken Charles Wang, Islanders owner, expressed his disappointment but promised to honor the lease of the Coliseum until 2015. Mangano, a strong supporter of the plan, suffered a defeat as well, though he took the taxpayer’s decision in stride: “The people of Nassau County have spoken and I can take joy in knowing that we celebrated democracy today.”
Wang’s promise to remain on the island with his team is short lived as he adamantly expressed that come 2015, he would be taking the Islanders elsewhere if a new Coliseum wasn’t buil–a move that would leave the building empty and threaten closure of the giant performance venue. Had the proposed renovation passed, the Islanders would have been here until at least 2045 and Nassau would have received a minimum of $14 million in annual revenue from the Islanders.
But despite the major disappointment, Nassau Democratic chairman Jay Jacobs expressed willingness to come up with a plan that would build a new Coliseum through private funding. Jimmy Castellane from the Building and Construction Trades Council of Long Island commented that, “We’ll continue to try and move forward with progress. We know something has to get built here . . . I have thousands of guys sitting at home now [out of work].”
For now, though, the Coliseum will remain the hub for Long Island sports and performances, however out-of-date it might be.
All information gathered from Newsday