Follow me on Twitter @thefirstnoel19
The Islanders have officially submitted, what they say is "a comprehensive proposal to create a world-class sports and entertainment destination at Belmont Park.” The deadline to submit a bid was 2pm today.
The Islanders bid is backed by some pretty heavy hitters, Oak View Group, an arena development company backed by Madison Square Garden, which is overseeing the renovating of Key Arena in Seattle. In fact,
Oak View Group is quite involved in most arenas in North America. The Sterling Project Development, which is controlled by the Wilpons, is also involved.
Newsday is reporting that there are two other known bids at the moment, NYCFC, the MLS team which plays at Yankee Stadium, and Blumenfeld Development Group.
Blumenfeld submitted a bid during the last RFP. The Empire State Development Corporation scrapped proposals to develop at Belmont following a long-delayed four-year process.
The Belmont RFP calls for plans that include retail, entertainment, sports and hospitality options on the 43-acre vacant land surrounding the racetrack.
It could take months to award the bid. The sooner the better for the Islanders, who have until New Year's to renegotiate their "iron-clad" 25-year lease with Barclays Center. The team is entering their third year in Brooklyn. The opt out date for both sides is January 30th, which is four months from now.
Another time crunch for the team is the John Tavares contract situation. The Isles captain will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
The likely outcome of this will be that the ESD awards the team the bid in January and Tavares signs shortly after. Then again, this is Islanders.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»