Billy Joel will "open the new Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum with a concert on April 5," following a 20-month, $261M renovation of the 44-year-old arena, according to Glenn Gamboa of NEWSDAY. Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment CEO Brett Yormark said, “We’re going to bring the best of entertainment back to Long Island and it starts with Billy." Joel’s show will "kick off two months of events to introduce Long Islanders to the new Coliseum, which will have a capacity of 14,500 for most concerts, 13,500 for basketball games and 13,000 for hockey games." The new arena will have "configurations ranging from 4,000 to 16,000." Yormark said, “The first couple of months we really want people to sample all the different types of programming that will take place -- whether it’s world-class concerts, obviously, boxing, MMA, family shows and the like. We’re really going to showcase the diversification of our programming mix and give people a lot to think about. That was pretty much how we opened Barclays Center, and we’re going to do the same out there.” Though the majority of the renovation work at the Coliseum has been on the interior until now, Yormark said that those who drive past the site will "begin to see major, noticeable changes shortly." The exterior has "already been painted black and panels to redefine the arena’s exterior will begin to be installed in October and November." Yormark: "The place is going to be magnificent. ... It’s going to have an incredible ‘wow’ effect for the fans" (NEWSDAY, 10/11).
