Islanders pause new arena construction due to COVID-19

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Non-essential construction of the New York Islanders' new facility at Belmont Park is on hold amid the coronavirus pandemic, the club announced Friday.

The decision comes after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo expanded his temporary shutdown of non-essential projects.

"We support Governor Cuomo's efforts to eliminate the COVID-19 virus," Islanders president and general manager Lou Lamoriello said in a statement. "He has been the driving force behind the construction of Belmont Park Arena. The progress that has been made since the groundbreaking is truly incredible and is a credit to all of the construction workers that have been there every day. Those workers are all a part of our community and we want them safe and healthy."

The Islanders broke ground at the new location in September, and it was scheduled to open for the start of the 2021-22 season. The team has been essentially splitting home dates between its original arena, Nassau Coliseum, and Brooklyn's Barclays Center, where it began playing in 2015.

Cuomo said in late February that the club would move back to the Coliseum full time for the 2020-21 campaign.

Meanwhile, the Seattle expansion franchise also halted construction at KeyArena due to the coronavirus. However, Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke told the Seattle Times' Geoff Baker on Thursday that work is expected to resume Monday because the roof needs to be reinstalled onto its permanent support posts.