The Islanders opened the season with a franchise-record, 13-game road trip to allow time for the $1.1 UBS Arena to be completed. It was nearly a longer trip.
Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke, the arena developer, told Newsday on Sunday his company and Islanders’ ownership paid "a significant, multi-million dollar fee (to general contractor AECOM Hunt) to accelerate the schedule to try to keep the guys off the road."
"When we did it, we knew we were going to be in a position where we didn’t have what you would love, the luxury of two weeks to train everybody," Leiweke said.