“There ain’t much future for a man who works the sea, there ain’t much island left for Islanders like me…” – Billy Joel, The Downeaster Alexa

Arena: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (1972)

Location: Uniondale (Long Island), New York

Game Attended: March 30, 2019 vs Buffalo

Game Result: 5-1 Islanders Victory to Clinch a Playoff Berth

Seat Location: Upstairs Corner, Shoot 2x End

Overall Impression: A Rowdy Arena Lost in Time

There’s a saying popular in football: “if you have two quarterbacks, you have none.” Well as it turns out, this old adage appropriately fits with the New York Islanders. The Isles currently split their home games between the state of the art Barclays Center in the heart of Brooklyn and the team’s old barn, the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island. It’s a unique situation amongst NHL teams, but unfortunately for the Islanders and their fans, both buildings have their flaws.

First on Barclays Center: the building just isn’t meant for hockey. While the building is new, luxurious, and located in a great Brooklyn neighborhood, it’s a basketball gym, not a hockey barn. Many have complained that fans seated upstairs can only see two-thirds of the ice, and that sight lines are bad throughout most of the building. I’m here for hockey, and all the Islanders’ history lives at the Coliseum, so that’s where I elected to see my Islanders game.

Best friend (and birthday boy; happy 26th, bud!) Craig and I drove up from New Jersey and endured a painful trip across the Bronx to get to Long Island. That’s my first problem: the Coliseum is only accessible by car, and driving on New York roads is akin to an extremely challenging game of Frogger. And once you get there, there’s nowhere to eat or drink. Most Islanders fans tailgate in the large parking lots, which could have been a lot of fun, but due to traffic delays, we arrived later than anticipated. Not exactly an ideal start to the night, but we did get a pregame picture with Sparky the Dragon!

With time before the game, we roamed around the Coliseum in search of some good New York food. The arena’s concessions were pretty slim and frankly, disappointing. There was a “food court” on the lower level, but that consisted of only two or three basic food vendors and a few tables to stand at. Nothing special in terms of food and drink, though we did find a vendor with bar-style pizzas. When in New York…

The Coliseum underwent renovations from 2015-2017, so the arena was at least clean and looked nice, but you can tell it’s still a building out of time. There’s only one concourse for the entire 14,000-seat arena, making things very crowded and lines very long. Inside the rink, there are no luxury suites, fancy scoreboards, or special displays. It’s an old hockey barn through and through.

The Isles do pay tribute to their history well, honoring the dynasty of the 1980’s with large banners and retired numbers from greats such as Denis Potvin, Clark Gillies, and Bryan Trottier.

But hoooooooooooboy do the Islanders have great fans. We happened to get seats in the special fan section containing the Blue and Orange Army, the official “cheerleaders” of the team. The Army was incredible the entire game, banging drums, ringing cowbells, and leading loud and passionate chants for the fanbase. The passion of Islanders fans is incredible, and it was fun to witness the fans lead their team in a playoff-clinching game.  The “Yes Yes Yes” chant after a goal was especially cool!

But like the Islanders franchise, the Coliseum’s best days are long in the past. I can only imagine how loud Fort Neverlose (as the Coliseum was known in the ‘80s) was during those Stanley Cup years, and I pity any visiting team in the playoffs this year. But it’s time for the Islanders to cut ties with the Coliseum and build a new, modern arena. The passionate Islanders fans deserve as much.

Building: 2 / 5

Atmosphere: 5 / 5

Neighborhood: 1 / 5

Overall: 2.5 / 5