Ratner selected to rebuild Nassau Coliseum
A decade-long effort to renovate the aging and dilapidated Nassau Coliseum moved a step closer to fruition on Thursday when officials chose Forest City Ratner, the developer of Brooklyn’s Barclays Center and MetroTech, to redevelop the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and its surrounding 77-acre property.
The selection of Nassau Events Center LLC, a team headed by Forest City Ratner, over the Madison Square Garden Co. for the $229 million job was announced by County Executive Edward P. Mangano following a months-long competition that initially involved four bidders.
The announcement comes nearly a year after the coliseum’s primary tenant, the NHL’s New York Islanders, said the team would move from the coliseum to Barclays in the 2015 season.
“We are grateful to be selected to revitalize Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum,” said Bruce Ratner, chair of Brooklyn-based Forest City Ratner. “I would like to thank Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano and his team for a transparent and well-managed process. We understand and proudly accept the tremendous responsibility that accompanies this project and the impact it has on future generations of Long Islanders.”