Nets Minority Owner Reiterates Desire To Have Islanders Move To Brooklyn
NEW YORK (WFAN) - Brooklyn Nets minority owner and Barclays Center developer Bruce Ratner told the New York Daily News that he wants to bring the New York Islanders to Brooklyn and have them play in the Barclays Center.
"I am trying like hell to get the Islanders to make the Barclays Center their new hockey home," he said. "They will play a preseason game here against the Devils."
That preseason game will provide a sense of how well hockey will do in Brooklyn.
The Barclays Center hasn't been looked at as a strong option for a hockey team to play in because of the low seating capacity. In fact, it would be the lowest capacity in the NHL. But in the past seasons, the Islanders have averaged fewer fans than the Center can hold, so the seating capacity likely wouldn't be a huge problem.
From an economical standpoint, moving the team to Brooklyn would create more demand for tickets, and with the low seating capacity the tickets would be more valuable. As such, the Barclays Center might be the best option in an effort to keep the Islanders in New York after 2015.
Reports said that exploratory meetings have been held in New York with the Islanders' brass, the Nets' brass and the NHL.
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