Imagine the Islanders playing in the shadows of Citi Field.
The Mets said yesterday that they have talked to the Islanders about the possibility of building an arena that could be the new home to the NHL team — which has said for years that it is in desperate need of a replacement for Nassau Coliseum.
“We’ve had discussions with the Islanders, in addition to those we’ve had with Major League Soccer, about building a sports/entertainment facility near Citi Field,” the Mets said in a statement released by the team after a report quoted Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon.
The Mets did not address the possibility of buying the hockey team, and it remains to be seen how serious a conversation it turns into, or if it’s just a bargaining chip.
“I haven’t spoken to the Wilpons yet,” Mayor Mike Bloomberg said. “I will. I don’t know whether it’s just the owner of the team negotiating — using us as a negotiating ploy out on Long Island.”
But Bloomberg added he would be happy to have the Islanders in Queens.
“I’d love to have more teams move here,” he said. “That would be great.”
Just where the building would go was left unsaid, though the two main possibilities figure to be adjacent to Citi Field or at nearby undeveloped Willets Point. The Isles would not need NHL approval to move to either site.
Isles owner Charles Wang has been silent since his plans for a renovated Coliseum as part of his proposed massive Lighthouse development project on Long Island have stalled. Wang has been unable to get approval from the Town of Hempstead to begin the project. The town would like to scale down the scope of the project.
Wang and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman repeatedly have said the team cannot continue to play at the Coliseum because of the amount of money the franchise loses while playing there.
And Wang has admitted that he wouldn’t rule out the team relocating if a new or refurbished arena is not agreed upon, with the Isles playing a preseason game in Kansas City last year.
The possible new Queens plan could be part of a Willets Point development that would require city approval — similar to what has thus far put the brakes on Wang’s Lighthouse Project, which he would have built around the Coliseum.