Nassau County announced Tuesday its plans to "reinvent" the Nassau Coliseum by bringing in Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC), the same developer responsible for Brooklyn's Barclay's Center.
The project to develop the dated Coliseum recently took on an added dimension after the New York Islanders announced plans to relocate some 25 miles west to the same Barclays Center at the beginning of the 2015-16 NHL season.
Bruce Ratner, Chairman and CEO of FCRC, joined Islanders owner Charles Wang and County Executive Ed Mangano to announce the FCRC's plan to create a strategic Reuse Plan for the Coliseum to help transform the venue into becoming what the county described in a press release as "an attractive, state-of-the-art destination for sports and entertainment."
"We need to get something done with the Coliseum and there is no better person than Bruce to entrust for this project," Wang said. "... Once we have his road map, we must work together to bring this to fruition. There are too many jobs at stake and this is too important for Nassau County."
The plan, which will be completed within the first half of 2013, will consider "sports alternatives as an integral part of the ultimate redesign," according to a release.
RELATED: Finger Pointing Begins Amidst Islanders Move to Brooklyn
Mangano also announced Tuesday the selection of a Master Developer Team, led by Renaissance Downtown, for the purpose of coordinating development on the 77-acre Coliseum site.
"In the weeks and months to come I believe the development community will be excited by the potential of what Bruce, Charles and our team all bring to the table. We envision a solution that creates investment and makes the Hub the destination that we so desperately need for Long Island," said Don Monti, President of Renaissance Downtown.
The Islanders had spent more than a decade trying to land a new arena on Long Island before announcing the move to Brooklyn following the 2014-15 season when the team's lease at the Coliseum expires.
