The Lighthouse Project

rdf:langString The Lighthouse Project

rdf:langString The Lighthouse Project

rdf:langString The Lighthouse Project

rdf:langString The official logo for the Lighthouse at Long Island project

rdf:langString cancelled

rdf:langString The Lighthouse Project, officially named The Lighthouse at Long Island, was a proposed transformation of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and the area surrounding it into a modern suburban area. The project was first introduced by New York Islanders owner Charles Wang. The base of the project was a newly renovated Coliseum for the New York Islanders to play in. Surrounding the Coliseum would be houses, offices, restaurants, and various stores, as well as Long Island's first five-star hotel. There would also be an athletic complex, conference and exhibition facilities, and a minor league baseball ballpark. The Lighthouse Project was expected to take 8 to 10 years to be completed, and to cost about $3.74 billion. The investors expected the project to generate $71 million of annual tax revenues, and create about 75,000 construction and construction-related jobs. After the project's completion, 19,000 new permanent jobs were expected to be created. Many believe the project's approval would have been the only way that Wang would have kept the Islanders on Long Island, rather than selling or moving the team. However, Nassau County residents voted against building a new arena for the Islanders on August 1, 2011.