Las Vegas Sands inches closer toward securing 42-year lease to operate Coliseum
Supporters of Las Vegas Sands' push to secure a 42-year lease of the Nassau Coliseum rally outside the legislative building on July 22. Credit: Dawn McCormick
The Nassau County Legislature's Rules Committee on Monday voted in favor of allowing Las Vegas Sands to operate the Nassau Coliseum "as is" for the next 42 years and approved the start of an environmental review for a possible casino-resort on the property.
The Nevada-based corporation has planned a $6 billion project for the 72-acre, county-owned Coliseum site in Uniondale if it wins one of three highly competitive state gambling licenses next year.
In a special committee meeting that drew more than 100 public speakers, county legislators voted 5-1 (one legislator was not there for the vote) to advance Sands' efforts to control the Coliseum site. They voted 6-0 to be the lead agency on a multi-step, state-mandated environmental review known as SEQRA. Once the environmental review is complete, a separate 99-year lease that would allow Sands to build on the site would return to legislators for another vote.
The full 19-member legislature is expected to vote on both measures on Aug. 5.
Sands officials have said they immediately needed the 42-year operational lease to run the Coliseum, including booking events and securing the jobs of more than 400 employees there. The company has held temporary occupancy permits to use the Coliseum since the end of 2023.
Sands' senior vice president Tracey Edwards said in a statement after the vote that the company "remains deeply appreciative of the broad-based support that we have received and the coalition of civic and community leaders, small business organizations, and labor unions that are standing with us for this transformational project for Long Island."
The company and the county are redoing the process from more than a year ago to follow a Nassau judge's order after Hofstra University successfully brought a case against Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the county Legislature and the county Planning Commission. State Supreme Court Justice Sarika Kapoor in November 2023 ruled the county needed to do the environmental review before entering a lease agreement with Sands.
Blakeman did not respond to questions seeking comment on Monday.
Democratic Minority Leader Legis. Delia DeRiggi-Whitton cast the lone "nay" committee vote on allowing Sands to operate the Coliseum, saying after the meeting that it was "in line with how I voted the first time." DeRiggi-Whitton was the only legislator last year to oppose transferring the Coliseum lease to Sands.
Several members of the "Say NO to the Casino" civic association and a representative from Hofstra University urged legislators to vote down both measures. The university and local residents have been the most vocal opponents to Sands' casino-resort project and on Monday spoke out against giving the company any control of the Coliseum site.
Hofstra spokesperson Terry Coniglio told legislators both leases "must be viewed in tandem" and there is no separating the vote on a 42-year operational lease and moving to start an environmental review for the 99-year lease that allows Sands to build a casino-resort.
"Control of the property allows them to promote their planned casino," Coniglio said. "There is no other reason Sands is interested in renting the Coliseum."
Labor leaders, however, highlighted the 8,500 jobs Sands has said the casino-resort project would create.
Long Island Federation of Labor president John Durso told legislators it would be "fiscally irresponsible to turn your back on this project."
"The whole goal here is to ensure that we can still create middle-class jobs without going ahead and making problems for others," said Matthew Aracich, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Nassau & Suffolk Counties. "If it was 400 professor jobs, we'd be fighting for them too. This isn't an issue we are only taking for Sands, this is a labor issue."
Monica Kiely, a member of "Say NO to the Casino," said the group is concerned that the county isn't considering any other projects on the site. They note a section in the 42-year lease that would allow Sands to sublet the Coliseum or cease operations after the first two years.
"This will lock up this property for up to 42 years, and we won't be able to get a good project there," Kiely said.
Correction: The Nassau County Legislature's Rules Committee on July 22 voted to allow Las Vegas Sands to operate the Nassau Coliseum "as is" for the next 42 years. The vote was 5-1 with one absence. This was incorrectly reported in an earlier draft that referenced two separate votes on items related to the county-owned property in Uniondale.
The Nassau County Legislature's Rules Committee on Monday voted in favor of allowing Las Vegas Sands to operate the Nassau Coliseum "as is" for the next 42 years and approved the start of an environmental review for a possible casino-resort on the property.
The Nevada-based corporation has planned a $6 billion project for the 72-acre, county-owned Coliseum site in Uniondale if it wins one of three highly competitive state gambling licenses next year.
In a special committee meeting that drew more than 100 public speakers, county legislators voted 5-1 (one legislator was not there for the vote) to advance Sands' efforts to control the Coliseum site. They voted 6-0 to be the lead agency on a multi-step, state-mandated environmental review known as SEQRA. Once the environmental review is complete, a separate 99-year lease that would allow Sands to build on the site would return to legislators for another vote.
The full 19-member legislature is expected to vote on both measures on Aug. 5.
Sands officials have said they immediately needed the 42-year operational lease to run the Coliseum, including booking events and securing the jobs of more than 400 employees there. The company has held temporary occupancy permits to use the Coliseum since the end of 2023.
Sands' senior vice president Tracey Edwards said in a statement after the vote that the company "remains deeply appreciative of the broad-based support that we have received and the coalition of civic and community leaders, small business organizations, and labor unions that are standing with us for this transformational project for Long Island."
The company and the county are redoing the process from more than a year ago to follow a Nassau judge's order after Hofstra University successfully brought a case against Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the county Legislature and the county Planning Commission. State Supreme Court Justice Sarika Kapoor in November 2023 ruled the county needed to do the environmental review before entering a lease agreement with Sands.
Blakeman did not respond to questions seeking comment on Monday.
Democratic Minority Leader Legis. Delia DeRiggi-Whitton cast the lone "nay" committee vote on allowing Sands to operate the Coliseum, saying after the meeting that it was "in line with how I voted the first time." DeRiggi-Whitton was the only legislator last year to oppose transferring the Coliseum lease to Sands.
Several members of the "Say NO to the Casino" civic association and a representative from Hofstra University urged legislators to vote down both measures. The university and local residents have been the most vocal opponents to Sands' casino-resort project and on Monday spoke out against giving the company any control of the Coliseum site.
Hofstra spokesperson Terry Coniglio told legislators both leases "must be viewed in tandem" and there is no separating the vote on a 42-year operational lease and moving to start an environmental review for the 99-year lease that allows Sands to build a casino-resort.
"Control of the property allows them to promote their planned casino," Coniglio said. "There is no other reason Sands is interested in renting the Coliseum."
Labor leaders, however, highlighted the 8,500 jobs Sands has said the casino-resort project would create.
Long Island Federation of Labor president John Durso told legislators it would be "fiscally irresponsible to turn your back on this project."
"The whole goal here is to ensure that we can still create middle-class jobs without going ahead and making problems for others," said Matthew Aracich, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Nassau & Suffolk Counties. "If it was 400 professor jobs, we'd be fighting for them too. This isn't an issue we are only taking for Sands, this is a labor issue."
Monica Kiely, a member of "Say NO to the Casino," said the group is concerned that the county isn't considering any other projects on the site. They note a section in the 42-year lease that would allow Sands to sublet the Coliseum or cease operations after the first two years.
"This will lock up this property for up to 42 years, and we won't be able to get a good project there," Kiely said.
Correction: The Nassau County Legislature's Rules Committee on July 22 voted to allow Las Vegas Sands to operate the Nassau Coliseum "as is" for the next 42 years. The vote was 5-1 with one absence. This was incorrectly reported in an earlier draft that referenced two separate votes on items related to the county-owned property in Uniondale.
Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.
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