Gary Bettman certainly thinks the Islanders need a new place to play.
“There is probably no worse major-league facility right now in North America than the Nassau Coliseum,” the NHL commissioner said yesterday, according to WCBS 880.
Speaking on video at a zoning hearing to discuss the proposed Lighthouse Project, a commercial development that has a new arena as a component, Bettman reiterated a familiar refrain.
“I think it is clear, and I say this perhaps as a matter of observation, and as a matter of fact: There is probably no worse major-league facility right now in North America than the Nassau Coliseum,” he said.
The remarks were applauded by the audience at Hofstra University, on hand for what became a 12-hour meeting.
The Islanders played a preseason game in Kansas City last night and return to the Uniondale rink tonight for the home debut of No. 1 pick John Tavares.
Islanders owner Charles Wang has said the Lighthouse project is the only way of keeping the money-losing team on Long Island.
Wang has set a deadline of Oct. 3 — date of the Isles’ regular-season home opener — to get approval. Wang has said repeatedly that if he doesn’t get the OK, he will “explore all options,” among them moving.
With Dan Martin