Some sad, beautiful photos here, as work crews tore up the rink at Nassau Coliseum for the last time, as the Islanders will open next season in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Fort Neverlose was never pretty—and in its later years was barely functional—but so much hockey history was made here, and more importantly than that, millions of memories.
All photos by Getty Images’ Bruce Bennett, who is the best.
Yes, the Islanders will be selling melted ice chunks—a.k.a. water. If you drink it, the Coliseum will be a part of you forever, until you pee.
There is faint hope for the future of hockey in Uniondale. The current plan is for a massive renovation of the arena, and there has been talk that the Coliseum could host the relocated Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the Isles’ AHL affiliate.