Bid to Keep Islanders on L.I.

Nassau County has scheduled an Aug. 1 referendum seeking taxpayer approval for a $400 million borrowing to fund a replacement for Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and keep the National Hockey League’s New York Islanders from pulling up stakes.

The County Legislature voted 11-7 in Mineola on Tuesday to establish the Aug. 1 referendum. Nassau County Executive Edward Magnano, a Republican, signed off on the measure after some Democrats in the GOP-controlled Legislature unsucessfully sought to move the referendum to Labor Day weekend or Election Day in November.

The Islanders’ lease for the existing 39-year-old coliseum in Uniondale expires in 2015.

Owner Charles Wang has said the team, with a new arena, could commit to playing on the island at least until 2045. The plan includes a minor-league baseball park adjacent to the new coliseum.

The County Legislature and the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority, or NIFA, a state watchdog that took over the county’s finances amid a projected $176 million deficit in its $2.6 billion budget, must still approve the funding. Authority approval is necessary for all county borrowing.

Should the arena proposals clear all the hurdles, construction would begin next year, with an opening expected in 2015.

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