The New York Islanders on Sept. 23 broke ground on their new Belmont Park arena, the centerpiece of the $1.3 billion Belmont Park Redevelopment.
The Belmont Redevelopment Project will turn 43 acres of underutilized parking lots at Belmont Park into a premier sports and hospitality destination, including a new 19,000-seat arena for the Islanders hockey team and other events, a 250-key hotel, a retail village and office and community space.
In addition, the project developers – New York Belmont Partners – will improve two local parks in the surrounding community. New York Arena Partners is a joint venture between Sterling Equities, Scott Malkin Group and Oak View Group.
The developers will also help fund a new full-time Long Island Rail Road station in Elmont – the first new, full-time LIRR stop in nearly 50 years. The new station will allow riders to access to new arena, hotel, and retail village from both the east and west, while providing a new commuting option for Long Islanders.
The new arena is set to be completed in time for the 2021-2022 hockey season. Over the next two years, construction of the arena, hotel and retail village is expected to create 10,000 jobs.
