EAST HARTFORD, Conn. -- Mets owner Fred Wilpon was at the University of Connecticut today for a press conference involving SNY. The press conference was to announce a programming partnership with the school similar to the one it has with Rutgers.

Fred Wilpon, Jeff's father, was asked about the Islanders today.

When asked if he thought the Islanders would have a stadium next to Citi Field he said, "that's just talk. That's up to the owner and what he wants to do. He's trying to get a new arena and, you know, we need a new arena on Long Island. No question. I don't rule out anything. It's not me to make that decision. It's the owner of the team to make that decision and what he wants to do."

"That's just talk," Wilpon said Thursday when asked about the likelihood that the Islanders will move to Queens.

In May, Wilpon's son Jeff, the Mets' chief operating officer, told Newsday he had spoken to Wang about trying to develop something "synergistic with Citi Field and a hockey arena." The younger Wilpon also told Newsday it was possible he could buy the Islanders.

However, his father, who helped announce a new partnership between SNY and UConn's athletics program at a news conference, wasn't as forthcoming.

"That's up to the owner and what he wants to do," Fred Wilpon said. "He's trying to get a new arena and, you know, we need a new arena on Long Island. No question. I don't rule out anything. It's not up to me to make that decision. It's the owner of the team to make that decision and what he wants to do."

The Islanders have signed a new corporate sponsor for the hockey team’s 2010-2011 season.

Hall’s Carpet, of New Hyde Park, and the Islanders “have signed an agreement to designate Hall’s Carpet as an official sponsor of the team,” the hockey team reports.

Leslie Hall, President of Hall’s Carpet, said in a news release, “We’re hoping to be a part of the development at the Coliseum not just with the team on the ice, but off the ice as well. We believe if we can service a client as high profile as the Islanders, we can service anyone.”

Hall’s Carpet will complete all carpeting during the renovation of locker rooms and suites at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, in Uniondale, the news release said.

As part of the Islanders sponsorship, Hall’s will also receive digital dasherboard signage, a kiosk on the Coliseum concourse and in-arena logo recognition, among other media components.

With Hempstead Town's reduced vision for the Nassau hub dismissed by Charles Wang's Lighthouse group as "unviable," the focus shifts to a joint Wang-Shinnecock Indian casino project.

A plan involving the Shinnecocks would not need Hempstead Town zoning approvals.

Several people with knowledge of the discussions said Monday that talks among Wang's group, the Shinnecock Nation and the tribe's backers at Gateway Casino Resorts, and Nassau County, have intensified from early stages in January. One said "stepped-up" talks were continuing "at the highest levels."

The Shinnecocks are expected to get final technical approval for their federal recognition application this week, a long-awaited step that would allow the Southampton tribe to open a casino on tribal land.

The tribe began talking to Nassau County in January about the prospect of opening a casino on or near the Nassau Coliseum property. Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano surprised many in April when he confirmed talks with the tribe and called a casino at the site a "very viable alternative." He said he saw the casino as a way to create jobs and boost revenue in a county that faces a budget deficit of more than $200 million next year.

While numerous hurdles must be cleared before a casino/entertainment complex could be incorporated into the Nassau Coliseum plan, people close to the camps said Monday that Hempstead's announcement of a plan that was dramatically scaled back from Wang's original Lighthouse proposal gave impetus to an Indian casino, which could circumvent the town. Most declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the discussions.

Because any Shinnecock project off the tribe's reservation would require special status as federal "land-in-trust" to move forward, it wouldn't be subject to local zoning codes like Hempstead's.

"It may be that this puts the parties into a position where not only the highest and best use but the only use for the land is as a casino and entertainment complex," said the source.

A spokeswoman for the tribe Monday confirmed talks about numerous sites for a casino, including a possible Nassau Coliseum project, were ongoing. But the tribe, said spokeswoman Beverly Jensen, is still open to discussions about new sites. "We are also waiting for federal recognition," Jensen said. "We do not have a [finalized] site for a casino."

Wang didn't return calls seeking comment.

"We're not only opposed to a casino [near] Hofstra University, but we have every intention of fighting it," said Hofstra president Stuart Rabinowitz. " . . . If anybody thinks this is going to be less painful than negotiating between Wang and Hempstead, they're mistaken."

Newsday article #2:

Under the town plan, the maximum building height has been cut from 35 floors, as Wang envisioned, to nine, and the number of housing units has dropped from 2,306 to 500. Experts question whether it offers enough opportunity to offset the cost of building and operating a refurbished Nassau Coliseum, the Islanders' home.

In a rare joint statement with Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, Wang said the answer "looks to be" no.

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/...-fate-1.2096739

In response to the Hempstead plan, the Lighthouse Development Group released a statement, which, in a seemingly rare move, was a joint statement with Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano. In it, the group and Mangano - who has been in talks with the Shinnecock Nation of Southampton about building a casino on the site - said the town's plan "does not appear to achieve the goals of the county and the developer."

"Without this, the Town of Hempstead's 'new vision' looks to be economically unviable for both the developer and owner of the site," the statement said.

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/...-half-1.2096669

http://www.lettherebelighthouse.com/2010/0...s-tomorrow.html

Nick's take. Not optimistic.

Wang and Mangano have issued a joint statement in response to the TOH's proposal. YOu can find it on the Islander's website or Islander's Point Blank

Here are the links
NewYorkIslanders.com
Pointblank

Please don't tell me the Islanders need the Lighthouse project to be approved in order to, a) remain in New York, and/or, b) re-emerge as a vibrant, competitive franchise, because that simply is not true.

Charles Wang, the owner, may need the Lighthouse, but all the Islanders need is a new arena, whether it's on the Island or across the Nassau County line in Queens.

Don't tell me prospective buyers won't be lining up to take the team to CitiRink in Queens if Wang puts the club up for sale.

Turns out it could be a Friday night of news. Details of Town of Hempstead's Lighthouse Project pushback starting to emerge.