Uniondale Lost The Islanders But Gets A Minor League Soccer Team

Nassau County had high hopes to build a sports hub in Uniondale.

Once upon a time, Nassau County, New York planners were going to develop a sports hub in Uniondale with an arena housing the National Hockey League’s New York Islanders franchise as the centerpiece of a 21^st century state-of-the-art facility. There were 77 acres that could house the arena, a minor league baseball park, restaurants, retailers with office space and residential places. None of this ever happened. But near that property there will be a small soccer stadium that is scheduled to open in 2027. The ownership of the Island F. C. franchise of MLS Next Pro, a soccer development league, is building a 2,500-seat venue. The stadium will cost about $25 million to build and allegedly no public money will be needed to help pay down the construction debt. A low-level minor league soccer stadium is quite a letdown for the politicians and the business leaders who had a grand vision for the area. The old building is still there but none of the revitalization plans ever materialized.

Earlier this year, the Las Vegas Sands Corporation was the latest group of investors who abandoned plans to develop the 77-acre plot of land in Uniondale that surrounds the 53-year-old Nassau Coliseum. The building at one time housed the Islanders franchise and the American and National Basketball Association’s New York Nets franchise. For decades speculators have wanted to develop on the property that the County owns. Howard Milstein and Steven Gluckstern bought the Islanders franchise in 1998 with the thought of building an arena-village. The plan fell apart. The Las Vegas Sands plan was to build a casino village that would include a 4,500-seat concert hall, two hotel towers and three parking garages. The plan was scrapped and Nassau County officials are back to the drawing board. But a small soccer stadium nearby will be built.

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