Could the New York Islanders be on the move?
If you read between the lines, that certainly seems to be the case. The club announced Wednesday morning that it was going to reveal a "major announcement" on Wednesday afternoon. Adding to the intrigue is that the Islanders have said the announcement will be made along with the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Chris Botta of Sports Business Journal reports that the Islanders will be heading to Brooklyn, opening play there in 2015.
Source tells @sbjsbd about today's press conference – "#Isles set to play in Brooklyn in 2015."
— Chris Botta (@ChrisBottaNHL) October 24, 2012
The Islanders have been mentioned in the relocation discussion for a while now, with the need for a new arena painfully evident. The Barclays Center would be an obvious fit, with the Brooklyn arena nearby the Islanders' current home of Long Island. The new arena just opened and is home to the Brooklyn Nets, who moved from New Jersey to the New York borough.
Islanders owner Charles Wang, Barclays Center owner Bruce Ratner, New York city mayor Michael Bloomberg, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, Islanders general manager Garth Snow and Nets CEO Brett Yormark are scheduled to attend the 1 p.m. ET news conference.
Photo via Flickr/madmiked
