Islanders Confident Construction Will Begin Soon On New Arena

Islanders co-Owner Jon Ledecky said that he "remains optimistic about beginning construction soon on the team’s planned new arena at Belmont Park," according to Baumbach & Marcus of NEWSDAY. Ledecky said, "We're looking forward to breaking ground this summer." Ledecky’s comments come as Empire State Development, the state agency coordinating the project, acknowledged Thursday that the "next step in the timeline -- the release of the final environmental impact statement -- will not take place on schedule." ESD has long said that the environmental report "would be produced by the end of the second quarter, which is Sunday." ESD spokesperson Jack Sterne said that the environmental report will now be "released in July, which won’t affect the construction timeline." The arena is "projected to be open" for the Islanders’ '21-22 season. Ledecky has previously said that recently built hockey arenas have been "constructed in 20-to-24 month windows" (NEWSDAY, 6/28).