According to Newsday, Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano is seeking a developer to coordinate the construction of a new or renovated Coliseum, along with housing and retail on the land around the Nassau Coliseum.
On Monday, Nassau County is expected to issue a Request For Qualifications in an attempt to jump-start the process. The RFQ is expected to say that the winning developer must immediately begin negotiations with the Islanders as well as SMG.
What they are trying to accomplish by issuing the RFQ is: to make up the price of what Wang is willing to pay as the Coliseums tenant compared to the cost of a new/renovated arena. Mangano made a point to say that no County money is involved.
The RFQ has a response deadline of July 30th, which means any interested developers have to submit their plans to the county by then or there out of luck. Apparently the RFQ will call for a new or renovated arena for the Islanders or another unnamed sports team, as well as a bio tech park, convention space, retail, and housing. Officials also want a 3,000 spot parking garage.
Jay Jacobs the Nassau Democratic Party chairperson was critical of the idea saying that the plan was, "counterproductive" because it stopped the county from directly negotiating with the Islanders leadership. Keep in mind, this is the same guy who last summer suggested charging Islander fans PSL's in an attempt to raise funds for a new Coliseum.
For more, check out the Newsday link below:
http://mobile.newsday.com/inf/infomo;JSESSIONID=703656FED317F950FDD7.3239?site=newsday&view=top_stories_item&feed%3Aa=newsday_1min&feed%3Ac=topstories&feed%3Ai=1.3825413&nopaging=1
No comments:
Post a Comment