They had attendance problems with a team that was a bottom feeder for the better part of 25 years. The ownership follies are well known. The Islanders were a textbook example of how to kill your fanbase and ruin your brand.So why do you want to do back there then? And what guarantess the Islanders will be better off at this place in 2025 when they had attendance problems last time in the burbs?
I think Long Island is a distinct market. The population of Nassau and Suffolk Counties places them right around the size of Chicago. Belmont Park is 200 yards from the New York City border and has a LIRR station which the Belmont project hopes to have upgraded to full time service. That places the team within 35 minutes of Penn Station and Flatbush Avenue Brooklyn. That was one of the main problems with Nassau Coliseum, no public transportation.
There are no guarantees that people will come to see this team. One thing that has been proven is that after making the playoffs in their first year at Barclays Center attendance declined the following season. They lost season ticketholders before last season ever started. This season Barclays Center, who controls ticket pricing, lowered prices anywhere from 10-40% for season ticket purchasers this season. there's a real problem for the Islanders in Brooklyn.
I trust that Islanders ownership has done demographic studies. I think they must have statistics that show the majority of Isles fans who have been attending games at Barclays are still coming from Nassau and Suffolk Counties. That's why Ledecky and Malkin put a majority of resources into pushing to clear up the legal hurdles of developing with the Wilpons the land around Citi Field, and instead focused on developing Belmont. There are enough people in that region to regain and rebuild a fanbase from a generation of people who the Isles turned off with their years of futility.