A plan for the Coliseum, and Belmont Park

Since the Islanders’ season ended last month, the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum floor has been dark most nights, and the public’s interest in the future of the arena surrounded by acres of concrete has been diverted as the teams of summer have taken over the spotlight. But last Wednesday morning, the Coliseum was buzzing with excitement.

“Hope” was the word used by Islanders owner Charles Wang that day — hope for a beloved hockey team that, as far as anyone knew, was teetering on the brink of relocation, at least when its lease with the Coliseum expires in 2015. Given Wang’s failed attempt at developing the property, it’s no wonder we haven’t heard him use that word in a while.

The Lighthouse project, a privately funded $3.8 billion mixed-use development plan overseen by Wang, no longer appears to be an option for the arena. The original proposal failed to earn the necessary zoning and environmental approvals from the Town of Hempstead in late 2009, which effectively killed it.

But last week, County Executive Ed Mangano opened a new and, it appears, promising chapter in the ongoing Coliseum saga, announcing a plan to put a $400 million bond referendum to Nassau County voters on Aug. 1 so they can decide whether to publicly finance a new sports arena and exhibition center to replace the aging arena.

According to Mangano, the project wouldn’t cost taxpayers a dime. That is partly because once the stadium is built, he explained, the Islanders would share revenue with the county so it could recoup the cost of construction, which is projected to be about $350 million. The remaining $50 million would fund the construction of a minor league baseball stadium, which would also share its revenue with the county once it is up and running.