Islanders Staying Put

The New York Islanders signed a new lease keeping the National Hockey League team in the Big Apple, disappointing Kansas City fans who’d hoped to bring the team to the Sprint Center.

The Islanders were in the eye of a storm over construction of the so-called Lighthouse Project in Nassau County, a $3.8 billion mixed-use development, until team owner Charles Wang agreed to a deal that will keep the team in Long Island until 2030.

The deal, which is still pending various layers of governmental approvals, will mean a $320 million investment by Wang and partner Scott Rechler in an overhaul of Nassau Coliseum without public funds, according to New York’s Newsday.

The team will pay $1.5 million per year in rent, plus annual hikes for inflation. And while Nassau County owns the arena, the Township of Hempstead, N.Y., owns the land. Before ground can be broken, the project will require a rezoning for 1 million square feet of offices and 2,300 condos, lofts and townhouses, a Lighthouse spokeswoman told Reuters.

Wang had publicly repeated that if he couldn’t swing a deal before the team’s regular season started Oct. 3, he would consider other offers before returning to the aging Nassau Coliseum.

The Islanders recently played an exhibition match against the Los Angeles Kings at the Sprint Center and that, coupled with the now-ended dispute, raised hopes that the Islanders could be convinced to become the AEG-owned arena’s anchor tenant.