Islanders agree to Brooklyn move

NEW YORK—Now hockey is coming to Brooklyn.
The NHL’s N.Y. Islanders have agreed to move to the Barclays Center starting with the 2015-16 season.

“Hello Brooklyn!” Islanders’ owner Charles Wang said as he made the announcement at a news conference yesterday.
The lease agreement is for 25 years.
Officials in nearby Nassau County, N.Y. have struggled for years to come up with a plan to either renovate or build a new arena to replace the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which opened in 1972.
Wang, the founder of a computer software company, presented a plan in 2003 for a privately-funded, multi-billion-dollar development of housing, retail, and a new arena on the property but the proposal foundered amid community opposition.
Wang had long threatened to move the team from its home in Uniondale after the club’s lease expired following the 2014-15 season.
He complained that the dilapidated building was unsuited for a professional sports franchise.
The Barclays deal took seven months to complete and was finished Tuesday night, according to Wang, who said he had wanted to keep the team local.
“Brooklyn is big time and now we have the big-league sports to prove it,” New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
As recently as April, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Brooklyn might not be a viable destination for the Islanders because it’s hard to reach for the team’s fan base in Long Island and Queens.
However, the team’s announcement of a news conference at the Barclays Center trumpeted the fact that it is located “atop one of the largest transportation hubs in New York City . . . accessible by 11 subway lines, the Long Island Rail Road, and 11 bus lines.”
Long Island fans seemed resigned to the move for a team that won the Stanley Cup every year from 1980 through 1983, but missed the playoffs last season.
“I wish they would stay on Long Island. I was an Islanders’ fan for many years and went to all the Stanley Cup wins,” said Sandy Thomas, a former season-ticket holder.
“It’s too much of a commute to go to Brooklyn to a game,” Thomas added. “I will watch it on television.”