Connecticut Officials Make Hartford Pitch To Islanders Owners
HARTFORD, Conn. (CBSNewYork) -- Hartford is making a play for the Islanders.
Four days after Bloomberg reported that Brooklyn's Barclays Center is preparing to evict the Islanders, Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy and Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin sent a letter to the team's owners suggesting Hartford's XL Center as a temporary -- or perhaps permanent -- home.
WEB EXTRA: Read Letter From Malloy And Bronin To Islanders Owners
"This is a ready market anxious for an NHL team, eager to fill seats, buy merchandise, and support your team," the two Democrats wrote in the letter, obtained by CBS affiliate WFSB.
Hartford was the home to the NHL's Whalers from 1979 to 2007 before relocating to North Carolina. The 42-year-old XL Center has been undergoing improvements, including replacing the ice floor and dasher boards. Malloy and Bronin indicated they'd commit to making further renovations if Islanders owners Scott Malkin and Jonathan Ledecky moved their franchise to Hartford.
"The building has had some fan amenities and new team facilities upgraded over the last several years, and we have a program in place to undertake more work," they wrote.
"We are certainly willing to work with private partners to develop the building you would be proud to call home and to adjust our development plans to the needs of your club and fans."
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The governor and mayor noted that Hartford has more Fortune 500 companies than NHL cities such as Columbus, Raleigh, Buffalo and Nashville, and that the Whalers had an energetic fan base.
Bloomberg reported Monday that Barclays officials have concluded the venue would be better off financially hosting Nets games and concerts.
The Islanders are currently second-worst in NHL attendance, averaging 12,773 fans per game. That's down from 13,626 last season — their first at Barclays — and down from 15,334 — their last year at Nassau Coliseum.
The team and the arena have a 25-year lease, but the Barclays Center could get out of the deal after the 2018-19 season. If the Islanders terminated the lease, they could leave after next season. The Islanders and Barclays have an unusual agreement in which the arena pays the team $53.5 million a year in exchange for business operations, which includes tickets and suite sales.
The Isles moved into Barclays last season, but they have struggled to attract new fans in Brooklyn while their existing supporters have complained about obstructed-view seats and the loss of some traditions from the team's decades on Long Island. Some players also have complained about the quality of the ice.
Former majority owner Charles Wang moved the team from Nassau Coliseum after voters in 2011 rejected a referendum that would have used taxpayer money to build a new arena on Long Island.
Malkin and Ledecky purchased the franchise for $485 million in 2014 and took control July 1, 2016.
Reports that the Isles, too, are unhappy with the arrangement at the Barclays Center began to surface nearly a year ago — and just months after the franchise moved into its new facility.
The team has reportedly discussed building a new arena, either near Belmont Park in Elmont or near Citi Field in Queens.
Newsday reported this week that Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano met with Ledecky in mid-November to discuss the possibility of the team returning to the Coliseum, which is nearing the completion of a $260 million renovation. While the seating capacity of the venue has been cut to 13,000 -- small by NHL standards -- it is believed the arena has the ability to add several thousand more seats if necessary.
