Islanders Point Blank: Barclays Center paying Isles annually for relocating

[Isles Fan]

http://islanderspointblank.com/aren...-to-barclays-setup-why-coliseum-wouldnt-work/

Apparently it’s Barclays Center Week here at IPB. More info on the arena front from Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark, who was on the Michael Kay Show earlier today discussing the Nets, Islanders and Coliseum renovations....

“For the most part, what the fans saw on the 21st is what they’ll see when the Islanders come here,†Yormark told Kay. “We are thinking about adding some premium seating, which I think will be great for that high-end premium buyer but other than that we’re ready to go....â€

Asked why, with his team renovating the Coliseum, it wasn’t possible for the Islanders to stay Yormark had the following to say:

I just don’t think you could have refurbished it in a way where it could truly accommodate a professional hockey team for 44 nights. There’s very little suite revenue coming out of that building. They don’t really have suites. I just think there’s a slew of reasons why it wouldn’t work. I just don’t think you could generate the revenue out of that building...

Let me help you translte:

I am justifying that Barclay's is better and I can't believe that Nassau was dumb enough to allow the owner of the arena that stole your team renovate their former home.

If he wanted to add more suites he could have, but he doesn;t want to because he thinks it make Barclay's more attractive. His tune will change a year or two into it when everyone finally realizes that Barclay's will not work.

I am so happy that IBP is diggin on this. I cannot wait for more to come out.

 

[Islesin93*]

an overwhelming majority(nearly all except the ones clearly marked as obstructed) of the seats have sight lines comparable to all other hockey arenas constructed in the last 30 years.

complete horse ****

those upper level centers look like they will all have a horrible view, unless you are in the front couple of rows

and those "obstructed" view are not just a few seats, it looks like about 1/5 of the arena

 

[BadFella]

complete horse ****

those upper level centers look like they will all have a horrible view, unless you are in the front couple of rows

and those "obstructed" view are not just a few seats, it looks like about 1/5 of the arena

There are 15,813 seats that Barclays considers non-obstructed. There are about 400 seats that are considered "obstructed" (figures coming from USA Today). They are also cheaper, for obvious reasons, than regular tickets, and when you buy the tickets for those areas you will be warned that they have a limited view.

Considering all of that, I don't see any problems. The one thing I don't like is that one of the goals basically has nobody behind it, but other than that it's a great basketball arena that will be mediocre-to-average for hockey spectators. Compare with the Mausoleum which has great sight-lines all around but is a dump otherwise.

Barclays also has great suites, I can tell you that personally. And they charge like, $25 if you want to order a six-pack of beer [if you consider Miller to be beer, anyway, the premium beers were a bit higher]. Then again, you're paying for the luxury of having beer bottles delivered to you and put in your refrigerator, rather than waiting on line for a half an hour and missing the action. Trust me, Wang will be getting his money's worth like never before.

Actually, in retrospect it must've been more than $25, as that sounds cheap for arena prices... but I was on a tab, so I don't remember specifically. Oh well.

 

[Bones45]

There are 15,813 seats that Barclays considers non-obstructed. There are about 400 seats that are considered "obstructed" (figures coming from USA Today). They are also cheaper, for obvious reasons, than regular tickets, and when you buy the tickets for those areas you will be warned that they have a limited view.

Then the 400 people from this board who went to the game must have bad luck.

I'm comparing watching the game to that of the Coliseum. We all know the Coliseum is a dump- horrible concourse, no space, miserable bathrooms.. etc... However.. watching the game from the ENTIRE second level of Barclays puts you so far away from the action, it's laughable. In my mind, that makes the entire upper bowl --- UNWANTED. Also, the second level concourse sucks, and the steepness of the stairs is horrible too. Drunk Isles fans (I mean, anyone who watches this team year after year, can't be sober) will take a tumble. Dads with kids wont want to deal with them either. I'd rather stay home, than get seats in the upper bowl. Maybe I'm the only one?

Considering all of that, I don't see any problems. The one thing I don't like is that one of the goals basically has nobody behind it, but other than that it's a great basketball arena that will be mediocre-to-average for hockey spectators. Compare with the Mausoleum which has great sight-lines all around but is a dump otherwise.

That is a HUGE problem. Contrary to many peoples beliefs, you go there TO WATCH A HOCKEY GAME, not eat food, drink, or take a leak. If you are saying "some of the sitelines suck and the watching hockey experience isn't so great, but the bathrooms, bars, and concourse are awesome" then you are there for the "good time" and not the game. And that's fine.. but don't try to sell it as something its not.

(I'm not saying you-- -rather just "someone".. )

Barclays also has great suites, I can tell you that personally. And they charge like, $25 if you want to order a six-pack of beer [if you consider Miller to be beer, anyway, the premium beers were a bit higher]. Then again, you're paying for the luxury of having beer bottles delivered to you and put in your refrigerator, rather than waiting on line for a half an hour and missing the action. Trust me, Wang will be getting his money's worth like never before.

Couldn't care less and is irrelevant to the normal hockey fan. Of course I want the team to be successful financially on and off the ice, but don't tell me that awesome suites are a leverage point to bringing the team to a new arena. I was at the "luxury" boxes at the dumpiseum once, and I was most impressed with the private bathrooms. One game out of probably a couple of hundred. Not a selling point for 99% of fans. Its a selling point to the financial stakeholders of the team.