Sands secures 42-year Coliseum lease
The Nassau County Legislature approved Las Vegas Sands’ 42-year lease agreement for the Nassau Coliseum and the surrounding property on Monday in an 18-1 vote.
“The Nassau County Veterans Memorial Coliseum will continue to function as it has previously with existing management,” Las Vegas Sands said in a statement. “With the adoption of this resolution by the County Legislature, the 400+ union employees of the Coliseum will have job security and peace of mind.”
The lease gives Sands the right to operate and maintain the Coliseum for 42 years, and it is required to keep the facility open for two years.
The Legislature also voted unanimously to be the lead agency for the State Environmental Quality Review Act. SEQRA requires an environmental review to be conducted to determine the impact of any development project in the state, and that review will likely take place in next six to eight months.
The decision comes after an extensive battle over the Coliseum property. Sands first expressed an interest in January 2023, announcing that it wanted to “pursue development of a multi-billion-dollar flagship hospitality, entertainment and casino project.” The State Constitution was amended in 2013 to allow up to seven casinos across the state, and four have already been established. Sands is looking to claim one of the three remaining licenses for its proposed project. A decision by the State Gaming Commission is not expected until late 2025.
In May 2023, Nassau County voted to transfer the Coliseum lease from Nassau Live Center LLC, the former tenant, to Las Vegas Sands for 99 years. That decision came despite a lawsuit filed by Hofstra University a month earlier that claimed the county violated the state’s open meetings law during the process. The law states that the public has the right to attend meetings and observe the decision-making process.
Last November, State Supreme Court Judge Sarika Kapoor ruled that the lease was not valid, and that both sides would have to restart the lease approval process.
The county, according to Kapoor, violated both the open meetings law and the SEQRA requirement to conduct an environmental review prior to the lease transfer.
In February, Kapoor issued another ruling, requiring a public hearing and an environmental review before the Coliseum could be developed and its lease transferred to another company. That forced Sands to submit a new amended lease proposal earlier this year, which was finally approved after a public hearing on Monday. The environmental review has not yet been conducted, but Monday’s decision will allow it to begin.
Throughout Sands’ presence on Long Island, it has been met with opposition from community members who say they are concerned about the impact a massive resort and casino would have on surrounding neighborhoods.
Members of the Say No to the Casino Civic Association gathered on the steps of the legislative building in Mineola before Monday’s meeting to voice their opposition.
“The answer is to think smarter, wake up, and have the people of Nassau County and everywhere in New York rise up and say we will not put up with this,” Mike Jacobs, a Wantagh resident, said.
Speakers shared their concerns about the environmental damage they claimed the facility could do to Nassau County, as well as the potential for an increase in gambling addiction and crime among local residents. They condemn the “environmental racism” they believe this would constitute, with a casino located in the heart of communities of color.
Despite the decision by the Legislature, association members said they would continue to speak up against the Sands proposal.
“This fight doesn’t end at the county, it ends at the state level,” Allison O’Brien Silva, one of the association’s organizers, said. “We’re going to continue to fight.”
Have an opinion on the Las Vegas Sands project? Send a letter to kradziski@liherald.com.
