UBS announced an exclusive, 20-year naming rights agreement with Belmont Park Arena, the new home of the New York Islanders. Located at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., UBS Arena is still expected to open for the 2021-22 National Hockey League season despite a two-month pause in construction due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, though reports claim UBS will pay the team a minimum of $275 million over the course of two decades.
“This is just another major piece of the foundation of the Islanders, of the arena at Belmont, and Long Island and the whole New York metropolitan area moving forward,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said during a virtual press conference. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to have the Islanders, this arena and the NHL associated with UBS. For Islanders fans, this is just another indication that while it’s been a long and winding road, the best is yet to come.”
Added Islanders co-owner Jon Ledecky: “For 40 years we’ve been seeking a brand new home and now we have it. We’re going to take that energy form the (Nassau) Coliseum and transfer it over to the UBS Arena.”
The venue, which will host more than 150 annual events, is the centerpiece of a $1.5 billion redevelopment project privately funded by New York Arena Partners, a joint venture among Sterling Equities, the Scott Malkin Group and the Oak View Group, in the area that is expected to generate approximately $25 billion in economic activity, including 10,000 construction jobs and 3,000 permanent jobs. The project also features an additional $100 million investment in transit and infrastructure enhancements, including the first newly constructed Long Island Railroad station in almost 50 years.
