Islanders and the Barclay's Center a Good Fit?



Animation of the new Barclays Center (Photo from newyorkislandersadrift.blogspot.com)

       With the new state of the art Barclays Center going up in Brooklyn, for the Brooklyn Nets, Islander fans can only wonder if it will be their team's new home of the future as well.
          With the lease on the Nassau Coliseum running out in 2015, Islanders owner Charles Wang has been hard at work finding his franchise a new home.  The most desired plan for Wang was to transform the Coliseum and the area around it into a modern suburban area, called "The Lighthouse Project".  However Nassau County residents vetoed the plan on August 1st, 2011.  
          So with the project hitting a dead end Islander fans are beginning to wonder what will happen to their beloved team.  There have been multiple reports surfacing about what might happen most recently the report about the franchise moving to Kansas City.
          But now with the Barclays Center going up, Newsday writer Neil Best, came out with an article about the Islanders possibly moving into the arena along with the Nets.  I have to say I agree with Best.  I'd rather my favorite team move 10 miles away than 1,000 plus miles. 
          However there are some obstacles that are seen with this idea.  One of the problems is that the arena could only accommodate 14,500 fans for hockey games.  Yes the attendance has been down on the Island, but lets be realistic it will improve.  With an up and coming young team the Islanders may soon become relevant again and I don't know if 14,500 seats is enough. 
          The Islanders are already scheduled to play a preseason game against the New jersey Devils on October 2nd, 2012.  It will be the first sporting event in the new arena, so it will give a good sense of how it could work for a hockey franchise. 
         When it comes down to it the Islanders obviously have a back up plan with the Barclays Center.  However it has been stated multiple times by ownership that the main focus is finding a way to stay on Long Island.  Now we get the chance to sit back and watch how it all unfolds.  For mine and every Islander fan's sake, lets hope a new and improved Coliseum can be built.