In December of 2018, the New York Islanders were awarded the right to build a new arena on the grounds of Belmont Park. The new 18,000 seat arena would be built next to the Belmont track, along with a 250-room hotel, and retail space. The Islanders were going from vagabonds playing in two arena’s, neither of which could be a permanent home to having a brand new permanent home within a few years, hopefully.
But as with any large scale project, there’s going to be opposition. And that’s fair, not everyone likes 18,000 seat arenas, big hotels, and a ton of retail popping up in their homes.