January 7, 2003
Nassau Coliseum (Capacity: 16,234)
Uniondale, NY
New York Islanders vs Pittsburgh Penguins
Final Score: 6 – 3
* The arena was significantly renovated 2015 – 2017. The Islanders left, however the Long Island Nets of the NBA G-League currently play here
** Last Revisit: 2013
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The New York Islanders have an interesting history that generally begins with one of the most dominant periods in all of hockey. Less than a decade into the team’s existence, the Islanders won four straight Stanley Cups from 1980-1983. The dynasty led by coach Al Arbour featured 19 straight playoff series wins. From there, the team was OK into the early 90s with some occasionally memorable moments, but things really deteriorated after that. Poor management has contributed to a playoff drought as the team hasn’t won a playoff series in 20 years, a streak ongoing when I revisited in 2013. The Isles have played in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum since 1972 as the team and arena started at the same time. Located in Nassau County in the heavily suburban Uniondale-Hempstead-Garden City area, Long Islanders take pride in their only professional franchise. After a decade of work and effort, a new arena deal and project to replace the Coliseum failed to pass with voters and the team moved to Brooklyn and the Barclays Center in the Fall of 2015. It was a stupid move, with a ton of drawbacks and thankfully, the Isles finally did get a new home just on the edge of Long Island (UBS Arena) in 2021. During my visits to the Coliseum, it was obvious how out of date the building was. However, when the fans actually did pack it (not common), the Coliseum turns into the league’s most loudest building.
Prestige Ranking: 2.5 out of 5
Location
The sea of parking lots around the arena really diminishes any hope of a decent location as only a hotel can be spotted in the distance. The nearby Hempstead Turnpike offers a rather bland assortment of commercial businesses and chain restaurants, though there are a few entertainment options within a couple miles of the Coliseum. Eisenhower Park has a wide array of recreational activities a short distance to the east, while close to the arena in Garden City is Museum Row, a literal row of museums on the Nassau Community College campus. The highlight is the Cradle of Aviation.
Location Ranking: 4 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
The Coliseum is right off of the Hempstead Turnpike (Rt. 24) and this is the easiest route to the arena. Plenty of nearby highways lead to the area, like the Meadowbrook Parkway, Southern State Expressway and Long Island Expressway. Island traffic can be bad with weeknight games being especially rough. Unfortunately, public transit is out of reach as the Hempstead station on the Long Island Rail Road is a few miles away (bus service would then be needed to complete the trip). Several massive parking lots surrounding the facility allowing for easy access by car. Getting out from the lots was chaotic however as both people and cars everywhere made for congestion. Aggressive drivers make it even more difficult if you are not familiar with that area.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 6.5 out of 8
Exterior
Nassau Coliseum is a very short and small looking building from the outside. The oval-shaped facility has a resemblance much more akin to an older minor-league arena, than an NHL quality complex. It’s dull and boring look features beige-colored walls. Towards the top, panels include advertisements, worsening the visual (though there’s a few panels for the team and Coliseum name.) Many doors around the arena help lead to a quick exit after the game.
Exterior Ranking: 2 out of 10
Concourse
The very small entranceway includes a box office before fans reach the doors and ticket-takers for the arena. There are also escalators that go down to a lower lobby, which features an exhibition hall and some restaurants. These recent additions include Doolin’s Pub, which has an Irish feel with many beers on tap, while Bistro 1255 provides upscale food. Inside the arena, there is only one concourse and it is remarkably tiny. During intermission, a huge logjam takes place with people trying to get food and finding a space to make a line for the bathroom. The concourse is oddly at ground-level, so windows and doors on the right-side throughout, lead to the parking lot. This section of the arena badly needs expansion and updating, plus the brown floor tiling shows it barely has been touched up since the 70s. Twenty gates provide access to the rink and the entrance puts fans at the top of the 200s, while stairs lead to the 300s.
Concourse Ranking: 1 out of 5
Food
Concourse food options feature a little more than normal sports stadium items as additional options include Gyros, Cheesesteaks and Salads. The quality sucks however as I had an awful Buffalo Chicken Wrap. Some New York / Long Island favorites include Nathan’s Hot Dogs and at least a decent slice of pizza. It’s also nice to see a Kosher stand for the large Jewish population on the Island. Beer options feature local favorites Blue Point to go along with lesser-known beers like Spaten and Paulaner.
Food Ranking: 4.5 out of 8
Interior
The inside is not as bad as I initially thought it would be after seeing countless games on TV. The seating bowl has a standard shape to it, surrounding the hockey rink in a classic design. Though there are three seating levels, it is more of a one level arena as the difference between the 100s and 200s is just a short wall and the 300s are separated by a slightly higher wall. Between the 200s and 300s is the odd placement of random raised seating, which I guess has some sort of weak luxury appeal? Also, unbecoming is the cheap feel to the 100 section as those seats are on top of telescoping, flimsy material. As for the seats themselves, they are narrow and made of wood, which makes me think they are original. The color scheme is blue and green. Suites, 32 of them, along with the press box, are way up at the top of the arena, hanging over most of the upper 300 level seats. I like having these sections out of sight, however the problem is that the overhang gets in the way of those 300 seats (where we sat). Thus, the scoreboard and most of the arena is not in view, leaving the impression of an isolated feeling. TV’s are set up in that overhang so fans don’t completely miss the scoreboard or action. There is an intimate feel to the place (which helps make it quite loud when fans are actually there) and the majority of the arena features decent sightlines as you’ll be hard-pressed to find an NHL arena with closer views from top to bottom. That’s still not enough to outweigh the deficiencies the Coliseum has.
Interior Ranking: 6.5 out of 14
Scoreboard
Nassau Coliseum’s box scoreboard at center ice is more tall than wide. The four screens are each taken up mostly by a video board showing live game footage and replays, while the lower third has the score info. There’s not much room for game details on the board and the fonts make the scoreboard look less than professional. At the top, the graphics are reserved for Isles logos. There are also ribbon boards that can be found on the bottom of the suite level.
Scoreboard Ranking: 2 out of 4
Displays
The “Veterans Memorial” portion of the arena name could have more honors than this as I found only a dedication rock on the outside. For the team, aside from some blown-up Newsday articles of the team’s four championships in the Lower Lobby, displays are generally missing. I know there’s not much room for it in the concourse, but there certainly is in the Exhibition Hall downstairs. At least the rafters above the rink are numerous and bright as orange, white and blue displays are plentiful with team honors aplenty. The four Stanley Cup banners are rightfully separated on a rung of its own. There are also six retired numbers in the rafters from those glory days: Potvin, Giles, Trottier, Bossy, Nystrom and Smith. They also changed Al Arbour’s banner to say “1500”, which is the number of games he coached, as the organization made a classy move by having the 75 year old coach one game in 2007 to get him to that number.
Displays Ranking: 3 out of 6
Cost
On my return in 2013, it was surprising to see parking remain relatively inexpensive. Lots for $7 or $10 were pretty good given it is an NHL event. Ticket costs have a wide range and on average, the price ranks in the middle of the league. The availability of tickets from private sellers however drives the prices down and it’s usually not hard to get a seat for under $40. Programs were free, which was cool, but concessions were very expensive ($5 for water and $6 for a hot dog).
Cost Ranking: 6.5 out of 8
Fan Support
This is a tough one, because I feel like as a group, you can put Islander fans up there in terms of passion with any of the top fan bases in the NHL (see the Tavares game and any playoff contest at the Coliseum). However, they don’t number all that much and you certainly have a large share of Rangers fans on the Island. There are times that the building looks more empty than other places fielding comparable teams. In spite of having the lowest seating capacity in the NHL, attendance is in the bottom half of the league and there are plenty of times that you’ll see empties on TV. At least when I returned in 2013 fans came out for a late-season game that had playoff implications
Fan Support Ranking: 5 out of 8
Atmosphere
The atmosphere meanwhile can differ quite a bit. At times, it is dead (when I went in Dec 2003), while other occasions feature a lively atmosphere (Apr 2013). For the latter, you’ll hear frequent loud chants of “Let’s Go Islanders” and the fans creating a buzz that is palpable. Post-goal is fun too as I like that really long goal horn and the team trademark “Wooo!” yelled after each goal. Playoff atmosphere meanwhile is insane and I think the loudest building in the league with Edmonton. When I watched the 2001 series against Toronto, Game 5 was insanity as the Shawn Bates goal reached a deafening level. I was fortunate enough to attend Game 3 in the Eastern Quarters against Pittsburgh later that 2013 season and can attest for the noise. Never have I left a building with my ears feeling like that and even though I’m not an Islanders fan, that’s a day I won’t forget. It’s hard to rank atmosphere given that variability, but we’ll go with it averaging out to a nine out of fourteen, with those extra points for playoff games.
Atmosphere Ranking: 9 out of 14
Other Stuff
The Coliseum hosted basketball in its early days as the Nets of the ABA/NBA played in the arena during much of the 1970s…..The Islanders have quite the rivalry with the New York Rangers and this makes for some entertaining affairs inside the Coliseum as Ranger supporters comprise of nearly half the crowd when they are in town. One tradition no matter the opponent, is the playing of the “Chicken Dance” as Islander fans replace the clapping with “The Rangers Suck!”…..A few years ago, the “Ice Girls” debuted, the first team I know of in the NHL to have a group like this. The scantily-clad ladies shovel the ice at breaks and partake in other fan and team activities. We’ll see how long the dress lasts, but the pseudo-cheerleaders could be something with staying power.
Game
Dave Scatchard had his first career hat trick as New York put four in the net during the 2nd period. That outburst helped the Islanders cruise in this one as they ended up winning 6-3. One plus in the game was seeing Mario Lemieux play in person and he even scored a goal.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
