Long Island Arena

Last updated
Long Island Arena
Long Island Arena
Location Commack, New York
Capacity Basketball: 6,500 [1]
Ice hockey: 4,000
Surface Ice
Construction
Built1956–1959
Opened1959
Closed1996
Tenants
Long Island Ducks (EHL) (1959–1973)
New York Tapers (ABL) (1962)
New York Nets (ABA) (1968–1969)
Long Island Cougars (NAHL) (1973–1975)
Long Island Ducks (EBA) (1977–1978)

Long Island Arena (also commonly known as the Commack Arena,Suffolk Forum, and The Island Music Center) was a 4,000-seat indoor arena in Commack, New York from 1959 until 1996. The Long Island Ducks of the Eastern Hockey League, a popular team in the small community, called the Arena home from 1959 until the league folded in 1973, one year after the New York Islanders came into existence. [2] [3] The Long Island Cougars (an affiliate of the WHA's Chicago Cougars) also played at the Long Island Arena from 1973 through 1975. [4]

From 1968 to 1969, the Commack Arena briefly served as the home of the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association. Before the team's move to Long Island, the then-New Jersey Americans had scheduled a game against the Kentucky Colonels at the Commack Arena on March 23, 1968. The Americans and Colonels were tied in the standings, and a "play-in" game to determine who would qualify for the playoffs. The Americans were forced to move the game at the last minute because their normal home, the Teaneck Armory, was booked with the circus. However, when the Colonels and Americans arrived at the arena, they found the court full of holes and laden with condensation from a Ducks hockey game the previous night. The court was also unstable. The Colonels refused to take the court under these conditions. The league ruled that the Americans had failed to provide acceptable facilities and forfeited the game to the Colonels, 2–0. [5] [6] The Long Island Ducks of the Eastern Basketball Association also spent one season playing at Long Island Arena during 1977–1978. [7]

Along with hockey and basketball, the Long Island Arena was used for ice skating, the circus, the Suffolk County Fair and concerts.

Peter Frampton recorded part of his 8× platinum double album, Frampton Comes Alive , at the arena.

John F. Kennedy made a visit to the arena on November 6, 1960, while campaigning for the presidency. [8]

During the 1980s and 1990s, the Long Island Arena housed a large, indoor flea market until the facility closed on July 31, 1996. [9] A shopping center, consisting of Target, Hobby Lobby, and a Whole Foods supermarket, [10] among other stores and restaurants, now stands on the former site of the arena, which was located on the south side of Veterans Highway just west of the Sunken Meadow State Parkway. [11]

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The 1968–69 New York Nets season was the first season of the Nets in New York and second overall season in the American Basketball Association (ABA). After one year in New Jersey, the team elected to play their games at Commack Arena in New York, the same place that they had tried to use for their one game playoff against the Kentucky Colonels that they forfeited due to unplayable conditions. Low attendance plagued the team at times, with the October 29 game drawing only 384 people to see the Nets play the Denver Rockets. Only 249 attended the game played on December 25, 1968 against the Rockets. The December 27 game was notable for a collision between Ken Wilburn and Rick Barry that cost Barry the rest of his season due to injury. Factors for the low attendance ranged from a lack of star power to the condition of the court, which was over the rink due to the Arena doubling as a hockey arena.

The 1967–68 New Jersey Americans season was the first season of the franchise in the American Basketball Association (ABA). The Americans finished tied with the Kentucky Colonels for the fourth and final playoff spot. However, due to the Teaneck Armory being booked and the playing surface at Commack Long Island Arena being deemed unsuitable, the two teams did not play a one-game playoff, and thus the game was forfeited to the Colonels, giving them the last spot. The team would relocate to Long Island as the New York Nets before the next season started.

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References

  1. ↑ Hassan, John (1997). The 1998 ESPN Information Please Sports Almanac . New York: Hyperion Press. p.  552. ISBN   0-7868-8296-4.
  2. ↑ Teaford, Elliott (October 3, 1993). "Mighty Ducks '93-94: Premiere Season". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2009-09-06.
  3. ↑ Levin, Dan (March 31, 1969). "If You Like Hockey, Basketball And Fierce Fighting Fans, Go Out To Commack, L.I." Sports Illustrated . Archived from the original on April 9, 2010. Retrieved 2009-09-06.
  4. ↑ Gold, Eli; Roberts, M.B. (2009). From Peanuts to the Pressbox. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. p. 67. ISBN   978-1-4016-0436-3.
  5. ↑ "American's Playoff Game in Commack Is Called Off". The New York Times . March 24, 1968. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  6. ↑ Wojnarowski, Adrian (June 3, 2003). "Twenty-Five Years Later, Boe Makes Up for Mistake". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  7. ↑ "Life Is Grim in the Boondocks of Basketball". The New York Times . February 1, 1978. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
  8. ↑ "Kennedy to Attend a Rally in Suffolk". The New York Times . November 6, 1960. Retrieved 2009-09-06.
  9. ↑ Hernandez, Carol (July 14, 1996). "Vendors Say Goodbye to the Arena". Newsday . Long Island.
  10. ↑ Parrish, Tory (March 20, 2018). "Whole Foods moves forward with new LI locations". Newsday . Retrieved 2018-05-19.
  11. ↑ "Veterans Memorial Plaza". Kimco Realty. Retrieved 2018-05-19.
Preceded by Home of the New York Nets
1968 – 1969		Succeeded by

40°50′18″N73°17′0″W / 40.83833°N 73.28333°W / 40.83833; -73.28333

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