New York Islanders Team announced Wednesday they would move to Brooklyn in 2015.
"It's a new place and it's only 35 minutes away by train. Come and join us and see hockey," team owner Charles Wang told reporters.
The Islanders will relocate to Barclays after the 2014-15 season when their lease at the Nassau Coliseum expires. They've been playing at the Coliseum in Uniondale since 1972. It's here that they won the Stanley Cup four times in a row between 1980 and 1983.
Mike Boss, the Islanders' vice president said: "Absolutely, Charles' main goal was to keep the team local, and he succeeded in doing that. As much as people may be upset because it's not going to be in Nassau County they should be happy because he kept the team in New York."
Bruce Ratner, a real estate developer played a crucial role in getting the Barclays Center built which is the main part of Atlantic Yards -- a $3.5-billion sports arena, business and residential complex.
Ratner said: "He got offers to move the team out of state - good offers - but Charles wouldn't do that. Charles is the real hero here today."
Wang always wanted to keep the Islanders in New York although he had serious options to move them as far as Quebec City and Kansas City. He failed to get the Lighthouse Project built on Long Island, which would have seen the construction of a new arena for the team.
The Islanders who have struggled to reach the playoffs since 2007 are pretty hopeful that this move will help them both on and off the ice. The new venue is expected to house about 15,000 spectators. They will start a 25-year lease at the Barclays Center once they settle in Brooklyn.
Gary Bettman, the NHL Commissioner said: "The Islanders, I believe, will be strengthened because they were playing in an inadequate facility, and the fan experience here will be much better. If a franchise is strengthened, that's good for everybody."
Wang said that it's not just hockey that fans come to see, they're concerned about a lot of other things."I think fans want a good experience," he said. "It's not just about watching hockey it's also the whole ambience of coming to a place where you can get good food and you can see. We have Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn fans. Westchester might be a little bit harder, but we have them all over the tri-state area."
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