Suozzi Asks County Legislature for Approval to Begin Lease Negotiations for Coliseum Site

--Rechler-Wang Agreement Moves Baseball Proposal Forward for ‘Nassau Centre’

Mineola, NY – Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi today announced an agreement with developer Scott Rechler and Islander’s owner Charles Wang that moves the $1.6 billion ‘Nassau Centre’ proposal closer to approval, including a provision that guarantees construction of a minor league baseball stadium.

Suozzi formally submitted the agreement to the County Legislature for its approval so that the County can begin lease negotiations with the Lighthouse Development Group, LLC concerning redevelopment of the 77-acre Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum site.

“This is the next step in the process of reaching our goal of creating a ‘Nassau Centre’ at the Coliseum site that will include thousands of new units of housing, office space, restaurants, shops and a renovated, state-of-the-art sports and entertainment facility,” Suozzi said. “It also cements our commitment to attract a minor league baseball team to Mitchell Field as part of this development. There will be baseball!”

After an eight month competitive selection and review process, Suozzi chose the Lighthouse Development Group as the developer of the Coliseum site in March. Since then, the County’s attorneys have been negotiating the terms of a written agreement – known as a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) – with the Rechler-Wang group that spells out certain conditions for continuing negotiations. Suozzi is submitting the MOU to the County Legislature for its consideration. Lease negotiations would commence upon approval of the MOU by the Legislature and the lease itself would be submitted for approval to the County Legislature.

The MOU calls for the developers to make annual nonrefundable option payments of $1.5 million to the County and obligates the developer to pay the County’s legal and third-party consultant fees in connection with redevelopment of the Coliseum site, including for required environmental reviews.

The agreement notes that the Coliseum redevelopment is “expressly conditioned” upon the construction and operation of a minor league baseball park at Mitchel Field Athletic Complex by the developer or a third party.

“Baseball is a key component of the ‘Nassau Centre’ project and this agreement moves us closer to ensuring that it will happen,” Suozzi said. “If we build it, they will come.”

The County intends to issue a separate Request for Proposals for the Mitchel Field site to invite developers, including the Rechler-Wang group, to build a minor league stadium and bring a baseball team to the County. The Mitchel Field site is adjacent to the 77-acre Coliseum site.

The Rechler-Wang proposal guarantees that the Islanders will continue to play hockey at the Coliseum through 2025. About $200 million is earmarked for a dramatic overhaul of the Coliseum, including two new buildings to be incorporated into the Coliseum’s existing structure. The new buildings will house a basketball court, additional ice rinks, a fitness center, new locker rooms and other sports facilities. The Coliseum will also have expanded seating capacity with an additional 2,500 seats, including ice-level luxury boxes.