Nassau Coliseum

Home of champions and the Long Island Nets.

Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, on Long Island. The venue is situated approximately 7 mi east of the eastern limits of the borough of Queens in New York City, adjacent to the Meadowbrook Parkway. It is one of the larger public auditoriums in the New York metropolitan area. Opened in 1972, the Coliseum occupies 63 acre of Mitchel Field, a former Army airfield, later an Air Force base. The facility is located in the Town of Hempstead, within the Uniondale 11553 ZIP Code. The Coliseum is used for sporting events, concerts, large exhibitions, as well as trade shows—44000 sqft at the main arena, 60000 sqft at the Expo Center. In 2015, the arena was closed for a major renovation which was completed in April 2017.

Quick Facts

Nickname

The Barn
The Old Barn
The Coli
Fort Neverlose

Address

1255 Hempstead Turnpike

Location

Uniondale, New York, U.S.

Groundbreaking

20 January 1969

Built

1969–1972

Opened

February 11, 1972

Reopened

March 31, 2017 (renovations)

Renovated

2015–2017

Lore & Background

The New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL) played at the Coliseum from 1972 to 2015 before moving to Barclays Center in Brooklyn. After the move was commercially unsuccessful, the team split its home schedule between Barclays and the renovated Coliseum from 2018 to 2020 and played the home portion of their 2020–21 season at the Coliseum, before moving to the new UBS Arena at Belmont Park for the 2021–22 season, which is also on Hempstead Turnpike, 7.7 mi west of the Coliseum. It was also the home of the New York Nets (now known as the Brooklyn Nets) of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1972 to 1977 and the New York Riptide of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) from 2020 to 2024. In 2017, the venue became the new home of the Brooklyn Nets' NBA G League team, the Long Island Nets. Currently, the Nets serve as the building's main tenant.

Reader's Guide

The Coliseum originally had a capacity of 13,000 to 15,000 depending on the event, and in the early 1980s the maximum capacity was increased to around 18,000. Before closing for renovations in 2015 the Coliseum seated 16,170 for hockey, up to 18,511 for concerts and 17,686 for boxing. Those renovations resulted in drastically reduced capacities: 13,917 for hockey and 14,500 for basketball. The first event at the Coliseum was a Nets game against the Pittsburgh Condors on February 11, 1972. The Coliseum was home to the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association, and later the National Basketball Association, from 1972 to 1977. The Nets won two ABA Championships in the Coliseum, with Hall of Famer Julius Erving headlining the team. In 1973–74 the Nets defeated the Utah Stars in five games to capture their first title. The Nets then captured the final American Basketball Association Championship in 1976, defeating the Denver Nuggets in six games. Following the 1976 season the Nets joined the National Basketball Association as part of the ABA–NBA merger. After their first season in the NBA, the Nets moved to New Jersey.

Did You Know?

The New York Islanders played their first game at the Coliseum on October 7, 1972, against the Atlanta Flames.
The Islanders were 11–1 in Stanley Cup Final games at the Coliseum; their only loss was a 1–0 setback in Game 1 in 1984 to the Edmonton Oilers.
The arena hosted the 35th National Hockey League All-Star Game on February 8, 1983, during which Wayne Gretzky scored four goals in the third period.
The Islanders played their final game at the Coliseum on June 23, 2021, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 3–2 in overtime in Game 6 of the 2021 Stanley Cup semifinals.