Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano is correct; the creation of an 85,000-square foot ice hockey complex on county property is exciting. Two former NHL players joined Mangano and New Hyde Park insurance agent Richard “Big Daddy” Salgado in Eisenhower Park last month for the groundbreaking of the $15 million facility.
Sounds good, but we have some concerns.
The sports complex, which will be known as the Ferraro Brothers Ice Center at Twin Rinks in Eisenhower Park, will contain two National Hockey League-sized skating rinks.
Salgado said, “This will be one of the biggest, baddest arenas in the U.S.” He is hoping that the complex will draw NHL and college scouts to Long Island to see the considerable hockey talent here.
The rinks, he said, will provide a state-of-the-art facility for hockey games and training to keep young hockey talent on Long Island.
Mangano said Twin Rinks is expected to have a $35 million impact on restaurants, hotels and other area businesses in its first five years of operation. That seems like a lofty projection. If the teams playing on this ice will be coming predominantly from the Long Island area, where is the “impact” on hotels? Show us the math.
Mangano said he is “delighted” that Nassau County is partnering with former NHL Players Chris and Peter Ferraro on the project. “Creating this kind of sports entertainment destination will enhance our quality of life as well as create jobs and opportunities for residents,” he said.
Even the name is troubling. Just last year the Great Neck Park District refused to rename the Parkwood Sports Complex in honor of Sarah Hughes, a Village of Kings Point native and U.S. Olympic gold medalist. But this facility, also on public property, will be named after two former NHL players..
The complex will also include four NBA/NCAA regulation basketball courts, a full-sized turf field with soccer and lacrosse lines and an outdoor recreational skating rink.
It is hoped that the facility will complement the Hub development at the Nassau Coliseum, which has been left in limbo since the New York Islanders announced that they were moving to Brooklyn’s Barclay Center beginning with the 2015-16 season.
We welcome the new sports facility. And, don’t get us wrong, we think this type of cooperation between the public and private sector is commendable. But we have questions about the fine print in this deal.
According to Mangano, the county will receive “part” of the proceeds generated by Twin Rinks, but no one is saying how large the county’s share will be.
Twin Rinks at Eisenhower will have a 50-year license with the county to lease the land where the complex will be built. The company will “increase its payments to the county as the term progresses.” That too is vague.
And at the end of 50 years, Twin Rinks can renew the license for another 50 years.
For the next 100 years the investors at Twin Rinks could own a substantial part of Eisenhower Park.
The Ferraro Brothers are local guys and we are sure they love hockey and that they want what’s best for the kids and future NHL stars in Nassau County. But are they full partners or did they just lend their names to the project? How much did they invest? To what extent will they be involved in running the complex?
They are only part of a group that is putting up $15 million and we assume that the primary objective of that group is to make a profit.
Did the county Legislature review this deal? Since Twin Rinks will operate on park land for a half century or more, the county should have final say on the fees charged to teams and individuals and how the site will be used. But will it? What role will the parks commissioner play?
These questions and more need to be answered.