New York Islanders Belmont RFP: Everything You Need To Know

The Belmont RFP process is open and the New York Islanders are in. So what do we need to know about their bid, or what the states looking for and how long this might take?

The process for the New York Islanders to move from Brooklyn to Queens has officially begun! The state’s development agency, Empire State Development (ESD), has issued a Request For Proposal (RFP) for Belmont Park. And according to reports, the New York Islanders are ready.

Newsday’s Robert Brodsky reported late last night that the RFP was open and the Islanders had been preparing a bid in anticipation to the process being opened soon.

That’s great! In years from now, the Islanders could be playing at Belmont Park in their very own brand-new state-of-the-art hockey-first facility. A facility where they aren’t the second and seemingly unwanted tenant. A facility they can once again call their own.

So what’s it going to take? What’s in the states request that the Islanders have to consider in order to pass the first hurdle, and have a successful request?

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A Successful Bid

(You can read the full RFP here.)

It’s important to keep the submission date in mind here. The New York Islanders will have until September 18th, 2017 to submit their proposal for the full 43 acres of land. That’s less than two months to have their proposal completed and submitted.

Good thing they got started early.

So what are the objectives that respondents need to cater to in order to have their bid succeed?

“Enhance” Belmont Park. That seems like an easy thing for the Isles to show. At the moment the land isn’t being used at all.

They have to show how they won’t be a money pit in a years time. How can the Isles be an economic benefit to the state by developing the site. This might be a bit harder to show. It’s not like the New York area has a shortage of premier sporting venues.

Provide quality jobs. Creating jobs won’t be an issue. With the retail and service providers that will be housed in the new construction will create jobs. But how many of those count as “quality” jobs?

The Isles have to show how the build will help the community. Back in April we looked at what the Isles could learn from the previous failed bid, and what the community could be looking for from any proposal.

Must Read: Belmont RFP - Learning From Failed Bid

Be as green as possible. Which is a standard requirement for any construction project, from a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment complex to that deck you and your Dad want to build in the yard.

Ways to incorporate women, minority, veterans-owned businesses. Again. A standard (and necessary) requirement for all major projects.

The Isles have had some time to work out some of these details already. There likely aren’t any surprises in the 28-page RFP document. But don’t expect the bid to be in immediately.

The Isles have until September to visit the site, ask questions to ESD about the RFP and the site before the deadline. Expect them to do their due diligence and use all, or most of the time allotted to them.

Next: John Tavares Won't Likely Extend Deal Till January

This is the start of a long, long process. If you’re going into this thinking that an answer to the New York Islanders arena drama is imminent, guess again. This won’t be rectified anytime soon. This is but the first step. But at least now you know what the Isles need to do to pass that first hurdle.