By JOSH NEWMAN
When Nassau Coliseum’s $229 million facelift is complete, the top college basketball program in the nation will get to experience it first.
The Long Island Events Center, the management team for both Nassau Coliseum and Barclays Center in Brooklyn, announced on Thursday afternoon that Kentucky will play in the first sporting event at the renovated arena in Dec. 2016. The opponent has yet to be determined.
According to ESPN’s Andy Katz, the opponent could be Hofstra, whose campus sits less than one mile from Nassau Coiseum
“I wanted Kentucky to play in the first college basketball game at the renovated Long Island arena because I know what the venue’s resurgence will mean for the area,” Kentucky head coach John Calipari said in a statement. “We played in the first college basketball game at Barclays Center (in 2012) and the atmosphere was incredible. I expect the same kind of intensity on Long Island, which is going to attract powerhouse teams from around the country and turn what will be a spectacular building into a hub for exciting college basketball.”
Also on Thursday, the management group announced the Long Island Hoops Classic, a doubleheader to include national and regional college teams scheduled for Nov. 2017, and Frozen Island, an annual college hockey event that will feature teams from three of the nation’s top conferences – Atlantic Hockey Conference, Hockey East, and the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) – for a two-day, four- team event.The hockey is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 28, 2017.
“It doesn’t get any bigger than Kentucky to open our stunning new venue on Long Island,” said Barclays Center and Brooklyn Nets CEO Brett Yormark said. “As we did at Barclays Center, we are going to bring the best of college basketball to the Island. We are also particularly excited to host the country’s top college hockey teams in an area that’s a hotbed for the sport.”
Kentucky will open its NCAA Tournament on Thursday night against Hampton at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. The Wildcats are 34-0 and bidding to become the first team to finish a season 40-0.
Photo: USA Today Sports
