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NYIFC Thoughts On Belmont |
New York Islander Fan Central | 10/28/2021 11:42:00 AM |
No punches were pulled on Barclays or Coliseum renovation in Newsday (because Dolan lost bid) we had a ton of LI bloggers who never wanted to give Barclay's any kind of a fair chance, despite the payroll/attendance improvements in year 1-2 playing on weeknights. Now we're allowed nothing but happy talk about Belmont or shut up/love it or don't support this team. Meanwhile, the green buffer zone between homes was destroyed next to LIRR and New York arena partners were given a stop work order which only appeared in tiny papers, not Newsday. Happy talk only, as many fans/blogger/media act like Kate Murray & bully people, and even Transit expert, Larry Penner, has been bullied by vote no $58, Randi Marshall, who talked these people out of voting yes for a new Coliseum in 2011 so Dolan could bid for it in 2013. In fact every all the local papers say the same thing about Belmont, it's a shady deal, but the LIBN is a tiny paper that can't compete with Newsday/News12 paywall service.
This is New York Islander Fan Central, not "stan" Central. I don't sell imitation clothing which takes money out of our owners team store, or a podcast or care who follows me, so I can always be completely honest/always have been. I don't want a job with the team, or was given someone else's message board, so that does not happen here, the truth is always written, and this is how I see it.
Belmont was a shady backroom deal the LIBN reported about (with documentation) as being done in 2016 (which is when Belmont appeared front page in Dolan's Newsday) long before any fake predetermined RFP was announced. Dolan wanted his LI arena, and owned Cuomo so this hurts Barclay's & renovated Coliseum, and gives all his friends (Leiweke/Azoff) a building to operate/book aka take acts/dates from his competition.
Flushing as fast as it was considered was called not viable in Newsday before blueprints were published, despite Jeff Wilpon saying all options especially Flushing was a viable option.
NYI as always are tenants only, the notion this is NYI arena is a flat out lie when fact is they have their least secure lease ever which is less then Alexei Yashin's contract for a buyout tomorrow, all it takes is ESD approval and they can relocate out of NY tomorrow---for free.
But the usual lazy media or bloggers with agenda's/resume sell, and you read "Islanders arena" enough times, fans who barely care either way buy it, they want to, but it's no more home then in 1972, 2015, 2018 or today.
Wang, Malkin-Ledecky-Shay all signed up for this, they are hardly blameless, and know Barclay's (of course it was flawed) increased payroll/revenue, but it was in New York City and working despite the drip of negatives from LI bloggers/Newsday, who did not even go back to the renovated Coliseum & had crowds of 11,000 announced in first place with $10.00 tickets unsold in March 2019.
The Belmont arena itself was a bad design, the Ewing-Cole blueprints were changed from retail inside arena with hotel next to the grandstand, as of today the hotel on the website is there but has parking spaces where hotel is supposed to be in another section?
That site sat empty for generations because the Cross Island Parkway, Hempstead Turnpike, and the racetrack far turn/grandstand made for a very limited footprint. The inner bowl shows a lower deck that goes out/not up like Nassau Coliseum, and most of the seats are downstairs, the sell was low roof, but again seats are far away from playing surface so forget noise/intimate settings they have been selling, it's not on top of players as before. It looks like Msg before it's renovation with seats a mile away from ice downstairs.
The Wilpon's are building this place who's company constructed painfully flawed Madoff Field, minor things like players bench not on right side, orange banners hung on right/not left, are mistakes. Every other year outfield walls/bullpens/dimensions had to be changed in Queens were major.
LIRR Elmont station (not the one for the Belmont Stakes there forever) is a long trip outdoors, and far away from arena entrance.
No tailgates are permitted at Belmont outdoors, it's a public park, wait until parking prices come out.
But every photo/tour it's all happy talk, no facts or honesty. This site wants a team here in New York in 25 years, not one which won't work at this isolated, flawed location (that's why it's this Arizona-Ottawa in suburbs) with a ton of issues already most won't talk about. And it would have opened on time if the money was spent to work a few Sunday's, as things like lanterns sat in a warehouse since July and despite Leiweke's claims evertyhing was delivered is not installed or consistent with the renderings, the 800-1000 workers were never seen that were promised.
Just happy talk, not honesty. After all these years have you not been fooled enough. At least at Barclay's they said day one no major construction changes, they did promise an ice retrenching.