February 11, 1972: The Nassau Coliseum Opens

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February 11, 1972, 50 years ago: The Nassau Coliseum opens, on the north side of the Hempstead Turnpike, surrounded by streets named after pioneering pilots: Earle Ovington Boulevard to the west, Charles Lindbergh Boulevard to the north, and James Doolittle Boulevard to the east.

It is 23 miles from Midtown Manhattan. While it is within the Town of Hempstead, the mailing address is 1255 Hempstead Turnpike, Uniondale, NY 11553.

To the west, on either side of Hempstead Turnpike, is the campus of Hofstra University. The south side includes what's now named James Shuart Stadium, former home of the Hofstra football program (since disbanded) and both the old and the new versions of the New York Cosmos soccer team. The north side includes the former New York Jets offices at Weeb Ewbank Hall, and their former practice facility.

To the north, across Lindbergh Blvd., is Nassau County Community College, which includes the Cradle of Aviation Museum, the Long Island Children's Museum, and a parking lot where a fake toll booth was set up to film the murder of Sonny Corleone in the film The Godfather. (For the sake of any kids you know, do not get the sites mixed up.)

The 1st event at the Coliseum is an American Basketball Association game: The New York Nets beat the Pittsburgh Condors, 129-121. Rick Barry scored 45 points for the Nets.

The Nets had previously played the ABA's 1st season, 1967, as the New Jersey Americans, playing their home games at the Teaneck Armory in Teaneck, Bergen County. They played the 1968-69 season as the New York Nets, at the Long Island Arena in Commack. They played the next 3 seasons at the Island Garden in West Hempstead. 

The Nets reached the ABA Finals that year, losing to the Indiana Pacers. They won the ABA Championship in 1974, beating the Utah Stars in the Finals. They won it again in 1976, beating the Denver Nuggets. Julius Erving, a.k.a. Dr. J, was their star. They were admitted to the NBA in 1976, but had to sell Dr. J to pay off the league's entrance fee and a territorial indemnification fee to the New York Knicks. They went from the best team in the 2nd league to the worst team in the 1st league.

They became the New Jersey Nets in 1977, moving to the Rutgers Athletic Center (now the Jersey Mike's Arena) in Piscataway, Middlesex County. In 1981, they moved into the Meadowlands Arena. In 2010, they moved to the Prudential Center in Newark. In 2012, they became the Brooklyn Nets, moving to the Barclays Center.

But the Nassau Coliseum will be best remembered as the home of the NHL's New York Islanders. They debuted on October 7, 1972, against the NHL's other expansion team that season, the Atlanta Flames. Morris Stefaniw of the Flames scored the 1st goal, and Ed Westfall scored the 1st Islander goal. The Flames won, 3-2.

In their 3rd season, 1975, they made the Playoffs. By 1978, they were one of the top teams in the League. On May 24, 1980, Bobby Nystrom's goal won Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Philadelphia Flyers, giving the Isles their 1st Cup.

They won the Cup again in 1981, beating the Minnesota North Stars in the Finals. They won it again in 1982, beating the Vancouver Canucks. They won it again in 1983, beating the Edmonton Oilers. Four straight Stanley Cups. (Every time I've been to the Coliseum, I've seen a New York license plate reading "4STAN.") They went 11-1 in home games in the Finals, and fans called the Coliseum "Fort Neverlose."

They got back to the Finals again in 1984, but their "Drive for Five" fell short, as the Oilers ended the Islander dynasty and began their own. But that would be it. In 1987, they won a 4-overtime Game 7 known as the Easter Epic, but lost in the next round. In 1993, they went on an exciting run to the Conference Finals, but got no further. After that, there was a long stretch of mediocrity.

And the Coliseum simply wasn't convenient. It's one of the few prominent places on Long Island that isn't easily accessible by the Long Island Rail Road. To get there from New York City, you have to take the LIRR to the Hempstead Terminal, then get on a bus for 2 miles, and then cross a big parking lot. 

Then you've got to reverse the process after the game. And on a cold Winter's night, waiting for that bus to take you from Uniondale to the Hempstead Terminal can be interminable. And if you just miss the train back to the City, you'll have to wait nearly an hour for the next one. (Thank God there's a good Chinese restaurant a block away from the Terminal.)

And the building itself was no good. Having two levels of seating and one level of concourse just doesn't work when there's more than 12,000 people in the building. That was also true of the Meadowlands Arena. And, having been built in the early 1970s, luxury suites were not the priority that they later became. In 2015, citing the Coliseum's age, limited amenities and logistics, the Islanders moved to the Barclays Center. It proved to be unsuitable for hockey.

Fortunately for them, a renovation of the Coliseum was completed in 2017, and the Isles moved back, until the new UBS Arena at Belmont Park was ready. The last Islander game at the Coliseum was on June 23, 2021, a 3-2 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals. Anthony Beauvillier scored the winning goal.

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Other teams that called the Coliseum home: World Team Tennis' New York Sets; the Major Indoor Soccer League's New York Arrows and New York Express; professional lacrosse teams the Long Island Tomahawks, the New York Saints, the New York Titans and, currently the New York Riptide; Roller Hockey International's Long Island Jawz (with a Z); the Arena Football League's New York Dragons; and the Nets' top farm team, the Long Island Nets of the G League, currently sharing the Coliseum with the Riptide.

Elvis Presley sang at the Coliseum on June 22, 23 and 24, 1973; and again on July 19, 1975. On June 19, 1974, The Beach Boys sold the place out, and were joined for an encore by Elton John and Paul Simon. Billy Joel, who grew up on Long Island, has played the place 69 times, and a banner with the Number 69 hangs there like that of a retired uniform number. Other notable concerts there: Led Zeppelin in 1975, David Bowie in 1976, Queen in 1977, the Jacksons in 1979, and Pink Floyd's The Wall tour and Bruce Springsteen on New Year's Eve in 1980.