Top lawmaker touts proposed casino at Nassau Coliseum hub as potential mega-millions make for county
UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Lawmakers, developers and sports fans have been bickering for decades about what to do with Nassau Coliseum and all of its valuable land.
Officials are inching towards a controversial resolution, which, if approved, could bring a world class casino to the heart of the county.
READ MORE: Las Vegas Sands proposes multi-billion dollar casino, entertainment complex on Nassau Coliseum site
Las Vegas Sands has won the first round -- control over the jewel of Nassau, the 70-acre hub surrounding the coliseum.
"This could become the highest-grossing casino in America and that revenue will be shared with us in Nassau County," County Executive Bruce Blakeman said.
Revenue exceeding $100 million per year would go to the county, town of Hempstead and four nearby communities.
"What makes this work is not the casino. What makes it work is all the things around the casino. It's a fully integrated experience," Las Vegas Sands CEO Rob Goldstein said.
It would consist of a $4 billion resort, with a casino, hotel, ballrooms, conference spaces, live entertainment, health club spas, and restaurants.
Signs are up and petitions are circulating in communities that surround the hub. Development is fine, they say, but without a casino.
"I'm extremely upset. I don't think a lot of people know about it and they don't know the drain on municipal resources," Garden City homeowner Patrick Dowden said.
"We're all upset because we have families," one woman said.
"As a community, we are worried about crime, the reduction in our property value," another said.
They are also concerned about traffic, noise, pollution, and "rates of gambling addiction and problem gambling," one woman said.
READ MORE: Hofstra University, Nassau Community College disagree over benefits of casino at coliseum hub
Nearby, leaders of Hofstra University are solidly against a casino. However, nearby Nassau Community College is on board, partnering with Sands' hospitality management program.
Union workers jammed in Wednesday as proponents touted jobs, benefits to local business and stabilization of the county's tax base.
As the for the fate of the iconic coliseum, Goldstein said, "The coliseum, there's no decision made at this time as to what we do with it. It may remain as it is. It may not."
The lease agreement is one step in a long process. The Planning Commission and Nassau Legislature must approve the hub casino plan, followed by town zoning and then the state licensing board.