I wanted to wait until the euphoria died down from Thursday. I wanted to let the reality of the situation settle in a little. The distance and the difference in the scenery needed to work through the channels of my head and heart.
For all the talk of a “gentrified” NEW Brooklyn, what I saw yesterday was mostly the Brooklyn I remember - the one that scares the crap out of this suburbanite. The hustle and bustle of the LIRR Atlantic Yards terminal at 9:40 am is the chaotic crush of humanity I remember from working at CBS another lifetime ago. The only difference was that our people parade had a police escort, which was necessary to cross the multi-lane Atlantic Avenue.
Within seconds, the façade of the Barclays Center was visible. It does not gleam, it glows from the bright light of the LED signs embedded in the rust-brushed steel. Blade Runner came to mind. The Islanders stopped to take a group photo in front of the building and have a brief media moment.
I was surprised there wasn’t a bottle of champagne broken on the door by John Tavares, the mood was so exuberant like the christening of a new ship. “Welcome to your NEW HOME!” as the jersey clad young men filed into the grand lobby. Open, airy and spacious in highly polished stone.
Bruce Ratner welcomed everyone to his palace. The place where the Islanders will raise “many Stanley Cups.” Over the ice hung the Isles four Stanley Cup banners alongside the Nets championship banners. They seemed foreign.
The team was escorted to their locker rooms while the media members signed in, were given a presentation folder, roster sheet, a pad and a new pen. Much appreciated, but the cold bottled water was appreciated far more than anything else. We circled for the (sales) tour with Bruce Ratner and Brett Yormark.
We passed the food concessions in the wide concourse. I was a little taken aback by names such as “Brooklyn Banger” and “Fatty-Cue.” I couldn’t see the pricing as the stands were not open.
We were taken down the stairs to the spacious media room with fewer screens than I would have imagined -- all of which had Islander video on a loop. There was a separate room for photographers and one for print media as well as the dining area. Many quipped “Yeah, just like the Coliseum.” har-har.
It’s a maze of hallways and stairs. So very many stairs. The tour included the private suites and champagne bars poor folk like me would never actually see. The 40 /40 American Express club designed by stake-holder Jay-Z is sleek, modern, and stainless which is the only way I can explain it all. Again, with an absence of actual patrons it seemed cold. There was a restaurant still being finished and Stoli bars in various places. Bruce Ratner said the design was very ‘democratic.’ There is no difference in the color of the sections and the same vendors would be on each seating level -- with the exception of those VIP areas we saw.
As people stared in wonder at the magnificence of the details, I asked if this arena was smaller than what was proposed for Uniondale during the “Lighthouse” days. “No, this is actually smaller. It’s built on a much smaller property than the Coliseum. So everything you see here -- could have been built there.“ It would be the saddest thing I would hear all day.
The lowest level of the Barclays is the VIP parking lot. Heavy security and a medal turntable of a sort that can swing cars around towards exits. Yormark asked if there was anything they could do make things better for the media members. Immediately one member in the front yelled “Parking!”
“What?” Yormark asked as if he didn’t know what the guy was talking about. “Parking. Parking would help.” As the mode of travel that is heavily promoted to Barclays is via rail, that leaves those that need to travel by car with the dilemma of where to put it.
Along with small retail spaces that faced out onto the street, there was a “meditation room” on the concourse. I thought it said “Mediation Room.” There was almost no one in any of the stores in the morning hour. Actually, I looked around -- where were the exits? From inside the arena you SEE the main lobby and main entrance, so that looks like the only way out. But there are exits to the street in those stairwells we trekked constantly.
The tour and sales pitches continued and we walked to the far end of the rink, the one without seating, and heard about the various options the Barclays has to expand seating for Hockey. It didn’t seem that important. More than two-thirds of the arena has very good sightlines. Although I felt the stairs and seating are very tight. They called it “intimate,” we’ll see. I tried to see if there were lights in the cement stairs to light the walkways, but didn’t see any.
Section 115 was set up as the press box. There were peeling Avery labels with names of basketball press. It was next to the Honda Club bar area where they were setting up the press box lunch. We plugged in our computers and started writing while the Isles practiced on the ice below.
Then all of a sudden people started to leave the area. Our guide was gone and so were my blog box buddies Christian Arnold, Gary Harding, Dan Friedman and Andy Graziano. I paired up with a gentleman in a light colored suit that I had never seen before.
Actually, there were LOTS of media I had never seen before and some very noticeably absent -- Like everyone from MSG. No Stan Fischler, No Peter Rutgaizer. Hell -- Where was Butchie? Shouldn’t he have been there?
The two of us walked up and down staircases and around the entire building looking for where the rest of the media had run off to. We finally found them in the locker rooms downstairs as the first group had left the ice. While the rooms were much larger than the Coliseum dressing rooms, because there are so many attendees at camp, it seemed more crowded than usual.
As NHL.com was filming Kyle Okposo for their feature, I backed out the door and stood against the hallway wall. Matt Moulson passed me and said the ice wasn’t completely set yet. “It takes about a week, but it’s getting there.“
It was now noon and lunch was being served in the Hondo club. The green boxes were piled high on the table. It took me a moment to realize each row had a different sandwich in it. Turkey, Ham, Roast Beef, tomato and mozzarella. So hard to decide! But the stars of the table were the Juniors cheesecakes and stuffed chocolate cookies decorated with the Isles vs. Devils September 21st game logo. We all took photos and stuffed the cookies in our bags. They were too pretty to eat. The boxes each contained a large sandwich, an apple, pasta salad and home made potato chips. There was too much food. And it was wonderful.
We stood around chatting and eating while Group B was on the ice. The Barclays PR director came around handing out his card and asking if anyone had questions. Imagine my embarrassment when I asked one question based on an article I had read regarding something in the construction of the building. I didn’t think anything of it. “We’re not commenting on that!” and he walked away abruptly.
I didn’t ask about the giant inflatable RAT on the sidewalk or the table of protesters at their door. But his reaction was so that I felt I asked, “By the way, did you kill your mother?” It was the last question I would ask for the day.
Back to the press box we went, out came the laptops again. The final press conference of the day was scheduled at 1:20 pm. Charles Wang would address the media. It would end at promptly 1:40 or before as they too wanted to catch the 2:05 pm train back to Garden City -- LONG ISLAND.
Charles Wang, soon to be permanent tenant of the Barclays, was smiling ear to ear. He joked and laughed and answered as he always has about his ‘new home.’ He went where he was loved. Nassau didn’t want him, Brooklyn begged him.
The hockey questions were left for Jack Capuano, until he was asked is the team would be younger this season. With that he turned and looked at Garth as it really is all up to him. He made no bones about the fact that a prospect such as Ryan Strome could very well end up on the Islanders and not the Sound Tigers. Camp is where these decisions are made, and Garth will have to make many tough ones.
Will Radek Martinek be the same insurance policy veteran again? Will anyone else be sent to the ECHL? Many choices are yet to be made in the next few weeks.
But the choice that has already been made is whether I like it or not, the Islanders are leaving Long Island after they fulfill their lease with Nassau County. And no matter what Ed Mangano says, it doesn’t look like they can be courted back.
John Tavares was quoted by Art Staple of Newsday as saying “It still feels very new…” about the Barclays practice. “Next week may feel more like a neutral-site game because the Coliseum is still our home.”
Not for long though.
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