Islanders Select Cole Eiserman Since the New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/] moved to UBS Arena in 2021, their state-of-the-art venue in Elmont, there have been many questions regarding what would happen to their former home, the legendary Nassau Coliseum. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA4MDU0NDY0MTkwMzU5MTg0/usatsi_16299843.jpg] Back in January of 2023, Las Vegas Sands entered into an agreement to purchase the site of Nassau Coliseum. The goal was to and is to make it more than just an arena, essentially an adaptation, if you will, of The Lighthouse Project that the late team owner Charles Wang tried to get built. That project failed after it was vetoed by residents in August of 2011. The Lighthouse Project would have upgraded the arena and built hotels, restaurants, shops, and more around it, which is what Islanders owner Scott Malkin is in the midst of building at UBS Arena. The biggest concern with Las Vegas Sands is that they wanted to build a casino on the Uniondale property, which is in close proximity to Hofstra University. While the approval to build a casino has yet to come, Vegas Sands went ahead with its bid for the land. According to Long Island Press [https://www.longislandpress.com/2024/07/22/sands-casino-rules-committee-approves/#:%7e:text=The%20Nassau%20County%20Legislature%20Rules,the%20Las%20Vegas%20Sands%20Corporation.], the Nassau County Legislature Rules Committee awarded them a 42-year lease on Nassau Coliseum and the surrounding property on Monday. This is extremely important, as denying the lease would have put almost 500 people out of work. We will see if a casino, which is 10% of the project, does end up being part of the venue. TOP STORIES
