$120 Million Hockey Arena Pitched To Medford, N.Y.

Public Domain – Suffolk County

Bayville N.J., developer Bernard Shereck proposed a plan this week for a $120 million hockey arena in Medford, N.Y. 

Shereck pitched the plan to the Medford Taxpayers and Civic Association March 28, saying the new arena would create 2,000 construction jobs, 125 permanent jobs, increase property values and provide tax benefits to nearby schools, according to Newsday.

Shereck, CEO of Arena Management Of New York, hopes the venue will attract a minor league hockey league to the town on Long Island. The arena would also host concerts and other sporting events.

He plans to purchase a 32-acre parcel of land from the Suffolk County Regional Off-Track Betting Corp for the development. However, the paper notes the OTB is already planning to sell the land an auto mall company.

Shereck is trying to persuade residents to lobby Brookhaven town officials to turn down a zoning change that would be required for a new auto business.

“If the property were available to us, I feel it would be a real boon to the community,” Shereck said during the proposal. “There’s just so many possibilities, so many opportunities. All it really needs is a site.”

Suffolk County, which makes up the eastern half of Long Island, is located about 40 miles from New York City. The typical distance in a radius clause that artists must agree to when playing a major venue is typically about 90 miles, meaning — depending on its size — an arena in Medford would have to compete with other venues in the New York City market.