Architects, engineers, government officials and labor leaders yesterday "unveiled a $346.5 million proposal to renovate the Nassau Coliseum and turn the surrounding 77 acres into a sports-entertainment complex," according to Randi Marshall of NEWSDAY. The development, "for which the builder would have to secure financing, drew noncommittal responses from key players," including Nassau County Exec Edward Mango, the Town of Hempstead and Islanders Owner Charles Wang, all of whom would "have a say in the project's future." An Association for a Better Long Island task force developed the plan, under which a "private developer would spend $100 million to renovate and expand the existing Coliseum." The height of the arena "would increase by as much as 25 feet, and there would be between 17,000 and 20,000 seats -- compared with just over 16,000 now." The site would include a "minor league ballpark, a parking garage with room for 6,800 cars that would join the Coliseum and the Long Island Marriott, a new indoor ice rink for practice and public use, and 70,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space." Wang has indicated that the Islanders "will not play in the current arena after the team's lease expires" in '15. But he said, "If somebody comes up with anything definitive, we will obviously look at it" (NEWSDAY, 9/22).
ON SOLID ICE: POSTMEDIA NEWS' Marianne White reports Quebec's National Assembly yesterday adopted a "controversial bill shielding from lawsuits an agreement reached between Quebec City and media giant Quebecor over plans to build a [C]$400-million NHL-calibre arena." Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume said that "several contracts will be awarded in the coming months to determine the real costs of building the arena." Labeaume added that the passing of the law -- known as Bill 204 -- "gives Quebecor president Pierre-Karl Peladeau the green light to enter negotiations with the NHL" (POSTMEDIA NEWS, 9/22).
