Marty Puts the Barclay Center On Ice

pic by Joe Marino for The Brooklyn Paper

Brooklyn Beep Marty "Pie in the Sky" Markowitz says if you build an arena and put ice over it, they will come. And by "they" he means the Islanders and by "come" he means for one game against the New Jersey Devils shortly after the Barclay Center opens in October. Deep down, Marty wants the Islanders to hang out forever.

At a community luncheon in Bay Ridge this past Saturday, our borough prez said that he'll be gunning for NHL hockey to make its home in Brooklyn. "It would be great to see some hockey at the arena," he told the Brooklyn paper during a preview of his State of the Borough Address to be delivered today. "In Brooklyn, there should be an NHL team, no question.”  

Apparently Bruce Ratner and Barclay Center CEO Brett Yormark both agree: “We feel Brooklyn is an untapped hockey market that offers the Islanders with an exciting opportunity to grow its fan base,” says Yormark.  

Here's who doesn't agree: The National Hockey League. Commissioner Gary Bettmen said that he found it hard to believe that the Islanders couldn't hammer out a deal to stay in Nassau County. He also went on to say that the NHL doesn't like to hand out franchises to just any town or city that puts up an arena. "We don't like to move teams," he told New York Newsday. But since the Barclay Center is technically on Long Island it is possible for the team to relocate to BK should they get sick of the Nassau Coliseum once their lease is up in 2015.

There of course is the issue of size (as always). Apparently the arena would lose almost 4,000 seats when reconfigured for professional hockey. But that's OK because no one goes to Islander games anyway. 

As for Marty, he said ice hockey is the tip of the iceberg for the ugliest arena ever built. He has dreams of monster truck races, Ringley Brothers Circus and concerts from Jay-Z, just to name a few. Sorry Marty, no matter how many awesome monster trucks or gentle elephants in festive head gear you parade through that rat's nest, it won't make it any prettier. Unless of course... you put a bird on it.