Belmont Park Islanders Arena Project - Upd 6/7 Construction ongoing, sched open for 2021-22 season

[CupHolders]

I left Long Island in 2003 and haven't visited since 2006, so I won't pretend to be an expert on the place. However, one issue I had with the old Coliseum was that it was a Herculean task to get to a 7PM puck drop if you worked in the city. What time would you need to leave Penn Station by to get to Belmont on time for a game?

Can’t say from personal experience. I don’t work/live in the city... so I have never gone to any game coming from the city.

 

[aqib]

According to my favorite transit app, it's about a 45 min journey from Penn to Belmont.

They would be better off then with a 730 start. It will make it easier for fans that work in the city to get to games.

 

[MikeyMike01]

They would be better off then with a 730 start. It will make it easier for fans that work in the city to get to games.

They could also have express trains. They currently have special trains to Barclay's.

 

[Fenway]

Getting to Uniondale via public transit was/is a challenge. Getting to a game was a hassle, leaving a game was worse.

Today it might be a little easier with Uber/Lyft in the mix but before ridesharing, you usually had to deal with a cab company that was based at the Merrick LIRR station.

I have a good friend who lives in Queens and does not own a car. He became a Devils STH because he could get more reliable public transport to Newark than Uniondale. Queens is woefully underserved by public transit thanks to Robert Moses. He stopped a logical subway expansion to LaGuardia Airport from what is now the N & W lines and JFK wasn't much better.

Today in most cities ridesharing has changed the playing field and you can see that at renovated Coliseum.

Chicago dating back to the 1930s resisted public transportation to Chicago Stadium and now the United Center because Norris/Wirtz had massive parking lots and they made sure the city never built a 'L station there even though the tracks are a block away. Only now it is finally happening

CTA to open new el stop by United Center

A good friend of mine since college is has gone on to become a promoter emphatically says the one area of the NY metro that needs an arena is Westchester County because that is where the money is. He claims the Islanders current owners were looking at White Plains/New Rochelle until Albany floated the Belmont proposal.

 

[patnyrnyg]

Not necessarily. The NY/NJ MSA, which includes NYC, Long Island, the northern NJ counties, the southern NY and southern CT counties (which everyone considers to be part of the NY metropolitan area or Big Apple) has approximately 20 million people. This dwarfs the next closest MSA, Los Angeles and its environs, which comes in around 13 million people. The NY/NJ MSA likely has less arenas per capita than most other parts of the country.

Also, this has been said on here a couple thousand times and probably will be a couple thousand more, Prudential Center (Newark) and whatever is on LI might as well be on 2 different continents. A lot of New Jerseyans are not trekking out to LI/Queens and vice versa. Heck, I know from the dating scene that enough Manhattan/Brooklyn types won't make the 20 minute trip from downtown to Hoboken/Jersey City. The Hudson River and the line between Queens/LI are much larger barriers than the geography suggests.

Hey look at that, someone who gets it! This is exactly it.

 

[patnyrnyg]

Im talking more concerts selling out then travel imo.

Yes, no kidding. And, there are more than enough people and more than enough acts to keep all of the arenas busy. Like I said and like Brick City said, very few people from NJ are going to make the journey to Nassau Coliseum, Barclays, or Belmont for a concert. Same for the people from LI to Prudential.

Have you ever lived in this area? Or, are you just using blanket assumptions that another arena is "too many"?

 

[patnyrnyg]

According to my favorite transit app, it's about a 45 min journey from Penn to Belmont.

Ok, now use your favorite app to tell you how long it will take to get from Merrick to Belmont. From Massapequa to Belmont. From Farmingdale, Hicksville, Babylon and so forth.

As for getting from Penn, 45 minutes would be station to station. Now, add on a few minutes to get of the station, and waiting in line to get in. Now add some time to get to your seats. Oh, and you have to hope the train leaves on time. I no longer ride the LIRR, but many friends do. Always enjoy their facebook posts complaining about the unreliability of the LIRR departure times out of Penn.

 

[patnyrnyg]

Traffic will be a problem and like you said the LIRR won't be convenient. Belmont is a long ride in the car for me so I will just take half a day work and tailgate in the parking lot.
To me I look forward to change and adventure. I just hope we build an amazing arena that Long Island can be proud of that attracts tourists.

How many 1/2 days are you going to take to attend games? I am thinking you will be the VERY rare exception rather than the rule.

 

[nyscene]

Ok, now use your favorite app to tell you how long it will take to get from Merrick to Belmont. From Massapequa to Belmont. From Farmingdale, Hicksville, Babylon and so forth.

As for getting from Penn, 45 minutes would be station to station. Now, add on a few minutes to get of the station, and waiting in line to get in. Now add some time to get to your seats. Oh, and you have to hope the train leaves on time. I no longer ride the LIRR, but many friends do. Always enjoy their facebook posts complaining about the unreliability of the LIRR departure times out of Penn.

Yup. All this is why they really need to push games to 7:30. Would make it much easier to get their on time while working a normal schedule.

 

[patnyrnyg]

I left Long Island in 2003 and haven't visited since 2006, so I won't pretend to be an expert on the place. However, one issue I had with the old Coliseum was that it was a Herculean task to get to a 7PM puck drop if you worked in the city. What time would you need to leave Penn Station by to get to Belmont on time for a game?

Answer will be different for everyone. Do you want to eat somewhere outside of the arena before going in, or are you ok not eating or buying food inside? If you want to eat outside the arena, do you want sit down restaurant/bar or will fast food cut it? Inside, do you need to get food before the game or can you wait until intermission?

The second factor is entry time. We do not know how efficient the staff will be at getting people scanned. Especially if there is only one entrance you can realistically use coming off the train.

 

[patnyrnyg]

Yup. All this is why they really need to push games to 7:30. Would make it much easier to get their on time while working a normal schedule.

7:30 might help, but then you will have people complaining that they are getting home too late. One of those damned if you do, damned if you don't scenarios. Secondly, whether it is 7 or 7:30, if it is too inconvenient for the majority of people, they are not going to attend unless they are an absolute diehard, at least not on a regular basis. Everyone who lived/lived on LI can name a few people who are Isles fans, liked going to games, but stopped because of the hassle of getting to the Coliseum on-time and/or getting home after the game. I think Belmont would make that aspect worse.

 

[Melrose Munch]

Yes, no kidding. And, there are more than enough people and more than enough acts to keep all of the arenas busy. Like I said and like Brick City said, very few people from NJ are going to make the journey to Nassau Coliseum, Barclays, or Belmont for a concert. Same for the people from LI to Prudential.

Have you ever lived in this area? Or, are you just using blanket assumptions that another arena is "too many"?

I haven't. But I'm not looking at this based on travel. I'm looking at demand. I don't know if 4 concerts across the tri state will all sell out. Or anywhere.

 

[Newsworthy]

7:30 might help, but then you will have people complaining that they are getting home too late. One of those damned if you do, damned if you don't scenarios. Secondly, whether it is 7 or 7:30, if it is too inconvenient for the majority of people, they are not going to attend unless they are an absolute diehard, at least not on a regular basis. Everyone who lived/lived on LI can name a few people who are Isles fans, liked going to games, but stopped because of the hassle of getting to the Coliseum on-time and/or getting home after the game. I think Belmont would make that aspect worse.

Perhaps they could mix it up throughout the season.

 

[PredsHead]

I haven't. But I'm not looking at this based on travel. I'm looking at demand. I don't know if 4 concerts across the tri state will all sell out. Or anywhere.

I don't have a dog in this hunt, but a couple of things to remember on this:

1. The New York area services many, many more people than live in its metro area. A lot of tours only hit the "major" cities in the US so many people use that as a reason to visit the city, people both from the US and abroad. I would assume there is also a fair amount of people from Upstate and areas around it who also go to NYC for concerts and weekend getaway type stuff, but wouldn't be counted as locals or tourists really.

2. Artists want to play there. Many of them live or at least have a place there already so its like not being on the road for a week in the middle of the tour, that is a big deal to most of them. Then there is also the competition aspect of it, which artist can play the most dates or sell the most tickets in NYC? These are people who literally stand in the spotlight, they want the brightest lights and the biggest stages.

 

[patnyrnyg]

I haven't. But I'm not looking at this based on travel. I'm looking at demand. I don't know if 4 concerts across the tri state will all sell out. Or anywhere.

They don't need every act to play all 4 arenas on a tour. Secondly, you are acting like concerts are the only events that can fill arenas. And, there are acts that can sell out 4 nights in the area. May not sell out 4 at the Coliseum, or 4 at Prudential, but spread them across and they can sell out. Not all acts will, but keeping the arenas busy enough will not be an issue. Revenues won't be a problem. Profit? Well, that depends on more than just revenue.

 

[tailgunner]

artists play one venue when they hit the NY/NJ area, they do not pack up all their gear and play MSG , Prudential, Nassau, Barclays individually, it costs too much money to pack up the show and play all the different arenas in NY/NJ..the artists or promoter will pick one venue and play there either one night or multiple nights. The Cure played MSG 3 straight nites without going to any other venue, Iron Maiden is playing the Barclays for 2 straight nights at Barclays only, Judas Priest is playing the Paramount in Huntington LI for 2 straight nights. so filling another arena in the NY/NJ area will not happen

 

[Bood12]

artists definitely play multiple venues when hitting the NY/NJ area, Fleetwood Mac is in town and is playing 2 shows at MSG and 1 at Prudential Center, Elton John was in town last week and played Prudential Center, MSG and Barclays Center, Kiss will be in the area next week and they are playing MSG and Nassau Coliseum, because booking is so hard to get at MSG and even Barclays Center and it costs more money to rent those places they definitely play multiple venues in the area if there is a demand, I also think they do like to mix it up and play a different venue in alot of cases even if it is not cost beneficial

 

[denis5]

artists play one venue when they hit the NY/NJ area, they do not pack up all their gear and play MSG , Prudential, Nassau, Barclays individually, it costs too much money to pack up the show and play all the different arenas in NY/NJ..the artists or promoter will pick one venue and play there either one night or multiple nights. The Cure played MSG 3 straight nites without going to any other venue, Iron Maiden is playing the Barclays for 2 straight nights at Barclays only, Judas Priest is playing the Paramount in Huntington LI for 2 straight nights. so filling another arena in the NY/NJ area will not happen

Ignoring, of course, the aspect that this arena is being manged by Oak View, which is owned by one of the biggest musical act managers in the business, Irving Azoff, so getting big acts to play at Belmont won't be a problem ... not that it would be. Your list omits, Kiss, Fleetwood Mac, Ariana Grande and others that are playing some combination of MSG, Nassau, Barclays and the Rock, so, well, as usual, you are pretty off base.

 

[YEM]

Like I said and like Brick City said, very few people from NJ are going to make the journey to Nassau Coliseum, Barclays, or Belmont for a concert. Same for the people from LI to Prudential.

I'm a NJ resident very close to convenient public transportation [Jersey City] and going out to Nassau [and to a lesser degree, Barclays] is not even a consideration for me. I've turned down free tix to Isles games because its such a hassle through public transportation, which really doesn't even get you that close to Nassau...

 

[aqib]

Not necessarily. The NY/NJ MSA, which includes NYC, Long Island, the northern NJ counties, the southern NY and southern CT counties (which everyone considers to be part of the NY metropolitan area or Big Apple) has approximately 20 million people. This dwarfs the next closest MSA, Los Angeles and its environs, which comes in around 13 million people. The NY/NJ MSA likely has less arenas per capita than most other parts of the country.

Also, this has been said on here a couple thousand times and probably will be a couple thousand more, Prudential Center (Newark) and whatever is on LI might as well be on 2 different continents. A lot of New Jerseyans are not trekking out to LI/Queens and vice versa. Heck, I know from the dating scene that enough Manhattan/Brooklyn types won't make the 20 minute trip from downtown to Hoboken/Jersey City. The Hudson River and the line between Queens/LI are much larger barriers than the geography suggests.

Also LA has arenas for USC and UCLA which even though they aren't as big as major league arenas can still hold high profile events. NY doesn't have major college sports (which as an NYU Alum annoys me to no end)

 

[aqib]

Yes, no kidding. And, there are more than enough people and more than enough acts to keep all of the arenas busy. Like I said and like Brick City said, very few people from NJ are going to make the journey to Nassau Coliseum, Barclays, or Belmont for a concert. Same for the people from LI to Prudential.

Have you ever lived in this area? Or, are you just using blanket assumptions that another arena is "too many"?

Trust me that won't stop him from acting like he knows the area as much, if not more, than you despite the fact you live there...

 

[aqib]

Ok, now use your favorite app to tell you how long it will take to get from Merrick to Belmont. From Massapequa to Belmont. From Farmingdale, Hicksville, Babylon and so forth.

As for getting from Penn, 45 minutes would be station to station. Now, add on a few minutes to get of the station, and waiting in line to get in. Now add some time to get to your seats. Oh, and you have to hope the train leaves on time. I no longer ride the LIRR, but many friends do. Always enjoy their facebook posts complaining about the unreliability of the LIRR departure times out of Penn.

My biggest regret from my time on Long Island (I had lived in Westchester before that) was that I didn't keep a diary of my daily commute on the LIRR. I figure I could have had a pretty decent book after a while

 

[Melrose Munch]

Trust me that won't stop him from acting like he knows the area as much, if not more, than you despite the fact you live there...

when did I ever say that? I was speaking in general terms anyway.

 

[BMOK33]

7:30 might help, but then you will have people complaining that they are getting home too late. One of those damned if you do, damned if you don't scenarios. Secondly, whether it is 7 or 7:30, if it is too inconvenient for the majority of people, they are not going to attend unless they are an absolute diehard, at least not on a regular basis. Everyone who lived/lived on LI can name a few people who are Isles fans, liked going to games, but stopped because of the hassle of getting to the Coliseum on-time and/or getting home after the game. I think Belmont would make that aspect worse.

I would do 7 on Saturday-Monday and 730 Tuesday-Friday. The one truth in every city I have lived in is that Monday evening traffic is non existent...Tuesday is markedly worse...Wednesday even more worse...Thursday inhumane and Friday inhumane as well but on average runs 90 mins to 2 hours earlier than Thursday. Based on that I think those days need to be later. The one thing I have never figured out is how Monday morning traffic is so bad yet there is zero evening traffic and how there is zero traffic Friday morning but the evenings are so bad. Somehow people must die at work Monday and somehow magically teleport to work Friday.

 

[aqib]

I would do 7 on Saturday-Monday and 730 Tuesday-Friday. The one truth in every city I have lived in is that Monday evening traffic is non existent...Tuesday is markedly worse...Wednesday even more worse...Thursday inhumane and Friday inhumane as well but on average runs 90 mins to 2 hours earlier than Thursday. Based on that I think those days need to be later. The one thing I have never figured out is how Monday morning traffic is so bad yet there is zero evening traffic and how there is zero traffic Friday morning but the evenings are so bad. Somehow people must die at work Monday and somehow magically teleport to work Friday.

Maybe people are getting home from a weekend trip Monday morning but don't go to work that day and Friday you have lots of people taking trips or are taking off or working from home. Also people tend not to work late on Fridays. When I was in NY, I rarely left the office before 630 more often 7-30 but on Friday I was out the door at 5:31