EJ's Stadium Reviews: Pre-Renovation Nassau Coliseum

Welcome to EJ's Stadium Reviews. This is where I talk about a stadium that I have been to and review my experience with it in multiple different categories before giving it a final letter grade. 

This time, we are going to Strong Island. The Islanders are rolling right now, and with a new arena on the horizon in Belmont, I figured that we should take a look at the old arena, Nassau Coliseum. This one, however, comes with a twist. I went to the Coli in 2015, three years before the renovation. So consider this as an old-fashioned stadium review, one that should have been done years ago. Let's dive in to the charming old barn on Long Island, the old Nassau Coliseum.

Before I get started with the review, there is going to be a fair warning with the photos. Since this was 2015, the photo quality is, should I say, not ideal. This was 2015 after all and my phone camera was not up to par. Plus, it was pouring rain outside. That's why there's no good photos of the arena's outside. There are going to be pics, though. Just not phenomenal ones.

Date Attended: 3/26/2015

Opponent: Los Angeles Kings

Game Result: Islanders lost 3-2 

Seats: Section 323

Accessibility: 1.5/5

    I'm going to be real honest with you. The drive from New Jersey to Long Island during rush hour is not one that I would like to do again. You're taking one of two ways, either through Manhattan and Brooklyn or you're going through Queens. Neither are ideal, but we chose the latter. Think of the drive as this: Citi Field plus another 45 minutes. So after a 3 hour drive to get to the Old Barn, we had to park at the Marriott across the street from the hotel because the lot was full. At least the Marriott parking lot wasn't crowded. If it was, than this would get a solid 1/5. But the parking situation, despite the poor aesthetic, was not that bad to get into and out of.

Concourses: 1.5/5

    Eek, also not great. When you have one concourse for about 13,000 people, it can get very congested at times. See that photo on the right with all the jerseys? That was probably the most open space I got all game. As someone who suffers from claustrophobia, it really did not feel great. I couldn't even enter the team store. I did like, however, the resemblance to an old time hockey arena. I felt like I stepped back in 1984 here. That's not a bad thing. I mean, just look at the TV in the right hand photo. You're not going to be seeing that in UBS Arena, Islanders fans. Hopefully the renovation made the concourses wider, so I have space to breathe in there. And a second floor would have been nice, not going to lie.

Food: 2.5/5

    Another unfortunate example that I really don't remember what I had, but I'm 75% sure it was a hot dog. It was a hot dog, so you pretty much know what you are getting. However, I wanna give a special shoutout to this food map. It tells you which gate you can find a certain item. So, let's say I want a chicken sandwich. I could find that at the concession stands in gate 10 or gate 19. I would love it if every single arena had this. By the way, the buffalo chicken meatball hero sounds amazing. I think it was a big missed opportunity I did not get this.

Scoreboard: 4/5

    

    This is where most people will probably disagree with me as far as the pre renovation Nassau Coliseum goes. I loved the old scoreboard. It was one of the last arenas to use this scoreboard before the new high def scoreboards got put in to the modern ones. I mean, just look at that. It's an absolute thing of beauty. Yes, maybe the quality could be a little bit better and the size of the board needs to increase. But, it tells you everything you need to know with no frills. That's my type of scoreboard.

Aesthetics: 3/5

       

    Meh. It's not bad. It gives you that feeling of watching a game at your local ice hockey arena. Tiny building with catwalks clearly visible, but again, there's a little bit of charm there. Islanders fans loved this place. A lot of banners were on display, but unfortunately the first number in all of them started with a "1" and not a "2". Hopefully that changes soon. However, this was, by far, the loudest arena I have ever been to. That's the benefit of the small arenas. You can hear every single person going nuts after an Islander goal. Apart from that, it's pretty standard.  Nothing special or out of the ordinary. 

FINAL GRADE: C-

The good of Nassau Coliseum is evident. An old-timey hockey venue that is a second home for almost every Islander fan. The ghosts of the late 70s-early 80s dynasty is evident. However, the bad parts of the Coliseum are really bad. The concourse needs a major redo for spacing and there has to be some sort of public transportation that is closer to the arena. Getting there from New York City is a chore. Yes, Nassau has a smell to it. Yes, it is congested trying to move in that building. And maybe the seats are a tad bit uncomfortable. But I would go here again to travel back in time, even though it is almost a guarantee that it will not be the same experience I had back in 2015.

That will do it for the EJ Stadium Review for Nassau Coliseum. It felt good going back and reliving these memories that I made at the Old Barn. Nothing but the best to the Islanders going forward, and I'm glad their arena situation is finally behind them.

Hopefully UBS Arena at Belmont has a food map just like the Coli did.