New Coliseum leaseholder gets break on rent
'By Jim Baumbach and Candice Ferrette
[email protected],
[email protected] @jimbaumbach Updated November 20, 2020 6:43 PM (EDT)
Nassau County has agreed to let the new leaseholder of Nassau Coliseum off the hook from paying rent until at least the summer in a deal that also guarantees that the Islanders can use the arena if needed during the COVID-19 shutdown.
The lease amendment, which requires approval by the Nassau County Legislature, calls for rent relief that continues until six months after the state lifts all restrictions on arena events.
Under the current lease, Nassau County collects more than $4 million in annual rent from the Coliseum leaseholder...
The new leaseholder, Nassau Live Center LLC, headed by Nick Mastroianni II, has not paid rent since taking over in August after Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov had shuttered the building and walked away from $100 million in debt.
Mastroianni was next in line to take control of the lease because he had orchestrated the loan for the Coliseum’s 2015 renovation...
Among the proposals pitched to Mastroianni was to downsize the arena into a 5,000-seat music venue that would be operated by the arena management company Oak View Group. OVG also is a part owner and operator of the Islanders' new arena, UBS Arena, that is under construction at Belmont Park.
UBS Arena is slated to open in November 2021...'