MSG, Barclays Developer Square Off For Coliseum

It appears that the biggest New York rivalry at the Nassau Coliseum won’t be between the Islanders and Rangers, but between potential developers of the property.

The Madison Square Garden Company and Bruce Ratner, the man behind Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, were among four developers who unveiled their plans for a revitalized Nassau Coliseum Thursday afternoon in front of County Executive Ed Mangano.

The proposals from MSG and Ratner each showed a redesigned Coliseum property with a cost upwards of $225 million.

Joining the hefty price tags of MSG and Ranter were Bayville developer Bernard Shereck’s sub-$100 million design and Syosset developer Ed Blumenfeld’s $180 million design.

MSG proposed a privately funded $250 million, 14,500-seat arena, which featured a flexible seating capacity that could go down to 1,700 when needed.

The proposal also included an entertainment district outside of the Coliseum called “Long Island Live!” MSG officials said “Long Island Live!” would offer entertainment, retail and restaurant options, including the transformation of the Exhibit Hall with unique attractions such as bowling and billiards.

Three teams are being considered by MSG for the Coliseum -- the WNBA’s New York Liberty, the Knicks’ D-League affiliate, the Erie Bayhawks, and the Rangers’ AHL affiliate, the Connecticut Whale.

As far as promises for the future, MSG executives said that the project would generate $11 billion in total economic impact over 30 years, with more than $300 million in sales and entertainment tax.

Officials said that the project would also create more than 1,200 construction jobs and more than 2,500 permanent, part-time and seasonal jobs annually from Arena operations.

On the other side, Ratner received support from hip-hop tycoon and entrepreneur Jay-Z, who is part-owner of Barclays Center inhabitants, the Brooklyn Nets.

Ratner said that Jay-Z’s company Roc Nation would help attract musical acts to his vision of the Coliseum.

That vision includes a developer-financed $229 million,13,000-seat arena with the ability to go down to 4,000 seats, Newsday [paid link] reported.

Also included, according to Newsday, would be:

       A 2,000-seat theater, a 2,500-seat outdoor amphitheater for concerts and summertime entertainment, as many as six restaurants, a movie theater and roughly 50,000 square feet of retail space

Ratner said the New York Islanders, who will leave their home in Nassau for Brooklyn at the end of the 2014-15 season, will play six games each season at his new Coliseum.

The revived arena would also play host to an unnamed minor league hockey team.

Newsday also reported that Ratner's project "would generate $10.9 billion in economic activity over 30 years and create 1,331 construction jobs and more than 2,500 full-time, part-time and seasonal positions."

Mangano and his business advisory council will review all four proposals.

While Mangano would not speculate on the four proposals, stating that there was “no picking favorites” this early, he did say that a decision would more than likely be made by July 15.