Barclays Center developers win Nassau Coliseum bid

UPDATED 3:50 p.m., Aug. 15: The development team behind Brooklyn’s Barclays Center — led by Forest City Ratner and Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov — has won the rights to redevelop the 63-acre Nassau Coliseum, Crain’s reported.

The Barclays team beat out rival Madison Square Garden Co. to snag the Uniondale, Long Island assignment, according to an announcement from Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano.

“While we are disappointed with the County’s decision, we are not at all surprised given the history of this project, and will be watching closely as this process moves to the County Legislature,” a spokesperson for the Madison Square Garden Co. said in a statement. “We continue to believe that Madison Square Garden’s proposal, expertise and proven track record represent the best and most realistic opportunity to revitalize the Nassau Coliseum.”

Forest City’s and MSG’s proposals were in a tight race, Mangano said at a press conference Thursday, with the Barclays group ultimately winning out because they offered the county a greater share in the project’s revenues, which will amount to billions of dollars over the life of the contract, Crain’s said.

The group now holds a 34-year lease on the property, with a 15-year option to renew. The county is to receive $195 million in revenue over the initial term from rents, ticket sales and other agreements, Crain’s said.

A $229 million project designed by SHoP Architects has been promised by the Barclays team, which would create a glass and steel sheathe reminiscent of the design at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

As the project’s bidders all agreed to finance the project themselves, the plan is essentially free for taxpayers, Crain’s said.

The Telecommunications union Communications Workers of America also came out in favor of the Barclays win, saying in a statement:

“We’re pleased that County Executive Mangano made the right decision by not rewarding a company owned by James Dolan, who has a notorious labor record that implicates him personally in federal labor law violations. It’s time for the government benefits to end for a corporate outlaw who has shown a blatant disregard for not only our nation’s labor laws but civil and workers’ rights.” [Crain’s] — Julie Strickland