Nassau Coliseum
The Barn The Old Barn The Coli Fort Neverlose | |
The Nassau Coliseum in 2021 | |
| Address | 1255 Hempstead Turnpike |
|---|---|
| Location | Uniondale, New York, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 40°43′22″N 73°35′26″W / 40.72278°N 73.59056°W |
| Public transit | Nassau Inter-County Express: N70, N71 |
| Owner | Nassau County, New York |
| Operator | Nassau Live Center, LLC |
| Executive suites | 32 |
| Capacity | Concerts: 16,000 Basketball: 14,500 Ice hockey: 13,900 |
| Surface | Multi-surface |
| Scoreboard | Daktronics Inc. |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | January 20, 1969 |
| Built | 1969–1972 |
| Opened | February 11, 1972 |
| Renovated | 2015–2017 |
| Expanded | 1976, 1983, 2017 |
| Reopened | March 31, 2017 (renovations) |
| Construction cost | US$32 million ($274 million in 2024 dollars) |
| Architect | Welton Becket and Associates |
| Structural engineer | Severud Associates |
| General contractor | Irwin Schlef |
| Tenants | |
| New York Islanders (NHL) (1972–2015, 2018–2021) New York Nets (ABA/NBA) (1972–1977) New York Sets/Apples (WTT) (1974–1977) Long Island Tomahawks (NLL) (1975) New York Arrows (MISL) (1978–1984) New York Express (MISL) (1986–1987) New York Saints (NLL) (1989–2003) Long Island Jawz (RHI) (1996) New York Dragons (AFL) (2001–2008) New York Titans (NLL) (2007) Long Island Nets (NBAGL) (2017–present) New York Open (ATP) (2018–2020) New York Riptide (NLL) (2019–2024) | |
| Website | |
| nassaucoliseum | |
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, on Long Island. The venue is situated approximately 7 miles (11 km) east of the eastern limits of the borough of Queens in New York City, adjacent to the Meadowbrook Parkway. It is one of the larger public auditoriums in the New York metropolitan area.
Opened in 1972, the Coliseum occupies 63 acres (25 ha) of Mitchel Field, a former Army airfield, later an Air Force base. The facility is located in the Town of Hempstead, within the Uniondale 11553 ZIP Code. The Coliseum is used for sporting events, concerts, large exhibitions, as well as trade shows—44,000 square feet (4,100 m2) at the main arena, 60,000 square feet (5,600 m2) at the Expo Center. In 2015, the arena was closed for a major renovation which was completed in April 2017.
The New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL) played at the Coliseum from 1972 to 2015 before moving to Barclays Center in Brooklyn. After the move was commercially unsuccessful, the team split its home schedule between Barclays and the renovated Coliseum from 2018 to 2020 and played the home portion of their 2020–21 season at the Coliseum, before moving to the new UBS Arena at Belmont Park for the 2021–22 season, which is also on Hempstead Turnpike, 7.7 miles (12.4 km) west of the Coliseum.
It was also the home of the New York Nets (now known as the Brooklyn Nets) of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1972 to 1977 and the New York Riptide of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) from 2020 to 2024. In 2017, the venue became the new home of the Brooklyn Nets' NBA G League team, the Long Island Nets. Currently, the Nets serve as the building's main tenant.