Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum ( commonly known as Nassau Coliseum or simply The Coliseum ) is a multi - purpose indoor arena in Uniondale , New York . Currently home to the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League , the Coliseum is located approximately east of New York City on Long Island . Opened in 1972 , the Coliseum occupies of Mitchel Field , site of a former Army and Air Force base . The facility is located in an unincorporated area of the Town of Hempstead , within the Uniondale 11553 ZIP code . The Coliseum is also used for concerts , large exhibitions and shows of various kinds , as well as trade shows — at the main arena , 60 , 000 at the Expo Center . Sports history . The Coliseum originally had a capacity of 13 , 000 to 15 , 000 depending on the event , and in the early 1980s the maximum capacity was increased to around 18 , 000 . it seats 16 , 170 for hockey , up to 18 , 100 for concerts and 17 , 686 for boxing . The Coliseum was home to the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association , and later the National Basketball Association , from 1972 – 1977 . The first event held at the Coliseum was a Nets game against the Pittsburgh Condors on February 11 , 1972 . The Nets won two ABA Championships in the Coliseum , with Hall of Famer Julius Erving headlining the team . In 1973 - 74 the Nets defeated the Utah Stars in 5 games to capture their first title . The Nets then captured the final American Basketball Association Championship in 1976 , defeating the Denver Nuggets in 6 games . Following the 1976 season the Nets joined the National Basketball Association as part of the ABA - NBA merger . After their first season in the NBA , the Nets franchise moved to New Jersey . The New Jersey Nets played four seasons at the Rutgers Athletic Center before completion of a new arena at the Meadowlands Sports Complex . The Coliseum also hosted the New York Arrows and later the New York Express of the original Major Indoor Soccer League . The Coliseum has also hosted first and second round games of the NCAA Division I Men ' s Basketball Tournament in 1982 , 1994 and 2001 . The New York Sets of the World Team Tennis league played their first game at Nassau Coliseum on May 17 , 1974 and won WTTCchampionships in both 1976 and 1977 . The team changed its name to the New York Apples in 1976 and began playing some of its games at Madison Square Garden . The New York Raiders , intended by the fledgling World Hockey Association to be their flagship franchise , was initially slated to play in the brand - new Nassau Coliseum . However , Nassau County didn ' t consider the WHA a professional league and wanted nothing to do with the Raiders . Nassau County retained William Shea to get an National Hockey League ( NHL ) team to play in the new building . The NHL responded by hastily awarding a franchise to Long Island — the New York Islanders — which forced the Raiders to play in Madison Square Garden , in the shadow of the New York Rangers . On February 8 , 1983 , the arena hosted the 35th National Hockey League All - Star Game , during which Wayne Gretzky scored four goals in the third period and was honored as the game ' s most valuable player . The Coliseum was home to the New York Saints of the National Lacrosse League from 1989 – 2003 , but the Saints became an inactive team in 2004 . In 2007 , it was home to four of the New York Titans National Lacrosse League team ' s eight home games ( along with Madison Square Garden ) . The Nassau Coliseum hosted minor league hockey prior to the awarding of the Islanders franchise , an event that was brought back in 2005 , when the Islanders - affiliated Bridgeport Sound Tigers ( AHL ) played two " home games " at the Coliseum in the absence of National Hockey League ( NHL ) hockey due to the 2004 – 05 NHL lockout . On April 17 – 18 , 2009 , the Bridgeport Sound Tigers , the American Hockey League ( AHL ) affiliate of the New York Islanders , played two of their home playoff games against the Wilkes - Barre / Scranton Penguins at the Coliseum due to a scheduling conflict at the Sound Tigers ' regular home , the Arena at Harbor Yard . In 2000 and 2005 , the Professional Bull Riders brought their Built Ford Tough Series ( originally Bud Light Cup ) to the Coliseum . On February 24 – 25 , 2006 , Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum hosted the 44th NYSPHSAA Wrestling Championships . It ' s just the third time the annual event has been held on Long Island . Selling 17 , 755 tickets over three sessions , it broke ( and still holds ) the NYSPHSAA wrestling tournament attendance record . Seating Capacity . The seating capacity for hockey has gone as follows : Music and film history . Elvis Presley performed in the Coliseum on June 22nd & 23rd 1973 . It was a 3 sell out concerts . His last concert in the Coliseum was July 19th , 1975 . Nassau Coliseum holds the distinction of being the next facility Elvis Presley was scheduled to play on August 22 , 1977 before his un - timely death a week earlier . David Bowie performed in the Coliseum during his 1976 " Station to Station " Tour . The concert was broadcast on radio , it and had been heavily circulated as a bootleg by fans . The full concert saw official release in 2010 as part of the " Station To Station Deluxe Box Set " . In February 1977 , Queen played at the Coliseum during their headlining US tour , and video footage of the band ' s performance of " Tie Your Mother Down " at the venue is recorded in the song ' s promotional film . The Coliseum was one of only two venues in the United States where Pink Floyd mounted their limited run of shows for The Wall Tour in February 1980 . Five concerts were performed from February 24 through 28 , one of which was filmed and later traded as a bootleg by fans for years . In August 1988 , they recorded and filmed the " Delicate Sound of Thunder " over four nights at the Coliseum . " Live on Long Island 04 - 18 - 80 " by The Marshall Tucker Band was the final concert of the original lineup and final recording of bassist and founding member Tommy Caldwell , occurring just ten days before his death in an automobile accident . Tommy Caldwell is pictured on the album cover . The Coliseum album was the first to feature a complete concert recording from the original band . However , the album wasn ' t released until 26 years later . The band was touring in support of their album " Tenth " at the time of the recording and features the songs " It Takes Time " and " Cattle Drive " from that release as well as classics such as " Heard It in a Love Song " , " Searchin ' for a Rainbow " and " Can ' t You See " . Certain songs from Bruce Springsteen ' s New Year ' s Eve concert in 1980 were used on his 1986 live album , " Live / 1975 – 85 " . Both The Grateful Dead and Phish frequently played the Coliseum , concerts yielding live albums in both cases : " Go to Nassau " by the Dead ; and three installments of the Live Phish Series — " 4 - 2 - 98 " , " 4 - 3 - 98 " and " 2 - 28 - 03 " . Genesis ' performance at the Coliseum on November 29 , 1981 ( during the band ' s " Abacab " Tour ) was recorded and filmed for the band ' s " Three Sides Live " album and concert video plus radio broadcast . Frank Zappa played his last ever U . S . show on March 25 , 1988 at the Coliseum . He was joined onstage by his son , Dweezil Zappa , for the concert ' s encores . On March 1990 , the country supergroup " The Highwaymen " performed at the Coliseum . This performance was recorded and was released on VHS in 1991 . Scenes for the 2007 movie " Music and Lyrics " starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore were filmed at the arena . The following year , on February 6 and 7 , 2008 , The Spice Girls performed two sold - out shows during their Return of the Spice Girls Tour . It was their first performance in the New York area as a five - piece act . Billy Joel has a " retired number " banner hanging from the rafters , along with those of Islander greats , to commemorate his many sold - out Coliseum shows . His " retired number " is 69 . One of Joel ' s concerts from his 1982 tour at the Coliseum was recorded for a 1983 HBO concert special and VHS release , " Billy Joel : Live From Long Island " . The inside sleeve to Morrissey ' s 1992 album Your Arsenal was shot at a performance at the Coliseum on November 11 , 1991 . In 2012 , Madonna used the arena to rehearse her MDNA World Tour . Redevelopment . , the Coliseum is the second - oldest arena in active use by a National Hockey League ( NHL ) team ( after nearby Madison Square Garden ) , and was the smallest capacity of all arenas in the NHL until the Atlanta Thrashers became the Winnipeg Jets and began play in the MTS Centre that seats 15 , 004 . The arena has been considered obsolete for many years , and various Islanders owners have been trying to replace the arena for over ten years . Team and county officials announced in 2004 a plan called The Lighthouse Project to renovate the Coliseum . The centerpiece of the project was a 60 - story tower ( since removed from the plans ) designed to look like a lighthouse . Other plans include new housing ( including affordable housing units ) , athletic facilities , a minor league baseball stadium , restaurants , and a hotel . The project would also add trees , water and other natural elements to the area . On August 14 , 2007 , Islanders owner Charles Wang and the Lighthouse Development Group partnered with Rexcorp to create a new plan , changing the overall project scale . The 60 - story " lighthouse " evolved into two 31 - story buildings connected with a footbridge at the top . The project as a whole has transformed from a simple renovation of the Coliseum property into a transformation of surrounding properties . Plans call for more 2 , 000 residential units ( 20 percent affordable housing ) , a hotel , a convention center , a sports technology center , of retail space , and a sports complex adjacent to the renovated Coliseum . The overall project is slated to cost roughly $ 3 . 75 billion . Construction was not planned to begin until at least mid - 2009 , and had not begun . Nassau County approved the entire Lighthouse Project in 2006 on a 16 – 2 vote , and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement was completed after a state - mandated environmental review . The Lighthouse Project then went before the Town of Hempstead for approval on a change in land zoning . On August 1 , 2011 , voters in Nassau County rejected a proposal for a taxpayer - funded new arena to replace the Nassau Coliseum . On October 24 , 2012 , the Islanders announced the team would move to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn following the expiration of their lease after the 2014 - 2015 season . However in May 2013 , Forest City Enterprises , the owner of Barclays Center , and Jay - Z have committed to redeveloping the arena and having the Islanders play six games per season at the Coliseum after their move to Brooklyn .