Since Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum closed in August '15, Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment CEO Brett Yormark and his team have "re-imagined nearly everything" about the arena, which is set to reopen April 5 following a $165M renovation, according to Glenn Gamboa of NEWSDAY. The "biggest change, though, may be the programming." Coliseum management plans to "make the most" of the attention the venue is getting -- as it did when it opened Barclays Center in '12 with a "flurry of high-profile sports and entertainment events." The first show in the building is a sold-out Billy Joel concert. The changes to the new Coliseum, now "officially known as Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Presented by New York Community Bank," are "apparent even before you get inside the building." The escalators to the event level are "still near the middle," but that level has been "radically changed." In addition to concession stands, there will be "new food carts, the entrance to a new VIP club and a bank of bathrooms." The interior improvements, designed by S.F.-based Gensler, are "also immediately noticeable." The glass in the windows and the doors have "all been replaced to make the concourse brighter." The concourse is "wider because the permanent concession stands have been pushed back a foot." Coliseum execs have "high hopes for the future, even if recent years at the arena were disappointing." Yormark said that the fact the Coliseum will be "one of only a handful of arenas in America without a major league team as a core tenant isn't a cause for worry" (NEWSDAY.com, 3/30).
