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| Just forget you know what this looks like |
According to reports on Long Island, voters rejected a referendum to borrow $400 million to build a new arena for the New York Islanders and build a minor baseball stadium. The future of the Islanders is now in the air, as this was probably the last ploy by owner Charles Wang to keep the team on Long Island. The team's lease in the rustic Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum runs out in 2015.
This means Kansas City's chances of getting a hockey team in the short-term remain on life support. The Islanders uncertainty stems further than just the need for a new arena and lack of support in their current location, but also the New York area's ability to support three NHL franchises. Of course, KC is a long shot, but another NHL franchise may be mobile unless Wang sells the team or he starts building an arena brick by brick in a field somewhere.
In the meantime, KC's focus should not be fully on landing an NHL team. As KC hockey blogger pucKChaser says, grow the game in the area through a grassroots movement and youth involvement. Quit closing local rinks, because that's just silly.
