Rant #1,447: The Last Time At the Old Barn

This holiday weekend, not only did my son and I participate in the usual Memorial Day pursuits, we also attended a WWE show at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

This was the final, last wrestling show at the old barn, which will be coming down soon, to be replaced by a newer venue probably in about two years.

This was the final RAW show there, too, the company's most popular TV attraction, so it had some added significance.

Years from now, a lot of kids are going to say that they were at this event--the place was packed, as it has been for years at the Coliseum when the event is also shown on TV or is a pay per view attraction--but these young kids--including my own son, who is 19 years old--really don't have the type of perspective I have on the rise and fall of the Nassau Coliseum.

My perspective is so much different than what the younger people have, because I was, myself, a teenager when the place opened in 1972. I remember that this was such a state of the art venue back then that Long Island high school students were bussed into the place before it was completed so they could see what a marvel this place was. I was one of those kids, and I remember that the seating was not completed when we had our tour of the place.

Being newly transplanted from New York City--I had called Rochdale Village, South Jamaica, Queens, New York my home from 1964-1971--I was geared into Madison Square Garden as the do all and end all of such arenas of this type.

But now, with myself and probably thousands of other newly transplanted people from New York City starting to call Long Island home, we now had our own venue to call our own, and our own teams--the Nets and the Islanders--to also root for.

Not only did I see Nets and Islanders games at this arena, over the years I went to dozens and dozens of events--everything from World Team Tennis to indoor soccer to professional lacrosse ... I even saw my daughter graduate from Nassau Community College there.

I went to job fairs at the Coliseum, and even participated in a few industry functions that were held downstairs in the exposition center, including trade shows.

And yes, I did see wrestling there, probably one of the first such events they had there, I think it was in 1972 or 1973. Bruno Sammartino was the headliner.

So attending my last, final event there on Monday was something bittersweet for me, forcing me to look at the past as I try not to look at the future of this place.

As WWE Chairman Vince McMahon blew his final kisses to the Coliseum--as I mentioned, this has been their Long Island home since 1972--I realized that whatever we get here in place of the old arena, it simply will not be the same as what we had.

The Nets have been gone for years, the Islanders are following them to Brooklyn's Barclay's Center next season, the developer of the Barclay's Center is also developing this new, smaller venue ... it just isn't going to be the same.

There will be no anchor tenants as far as major league basketball and hockey are concerned, and at 13,000 seats, it is doubtful that any franchise will venture into this place, as it is way too small to house such teams. The developer, Bruce Ratner, has proposed that the venue be expandable to 16,000 seats, which is a good move, but with three hockey teams and two basketball teams operating in the metropolitan area, I cannot see any other team from the NBA and NHL moving there.

Ratner's original proposition had the Islanders playing a few games there each season, but the NHL never approved this, and why would they? They are trying to build up Brooklyn as a hockey market, why would they sacrifice six games a season to this new venue?

On top of it, Ratner and Blumenthal, the other developer of the property--plans are to put retail and housing on the site, as well as other facilities--are countersuing each other at the moment, so who knows if the shovel will ever meet the ground anytime soon?

The site just had its master plan passed by the Town of Hempstead, where it operates, so this would signify a go ahead to construction, beginning right after Billy Joel closes the place in August.

Whatever rises there, the new Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum won't be the venue that I will remember. It will not be the original arena, even though it will retain the same name.

With all the events I went to there, how could it be anything other than the old barn that will be in my thoughts?

Heck, it was the same way with the new Yankee Stadium. Nice place, but to me, it isn't really Yankee Stadium, just a new park using that name.

What more can I say? I will miss the old arena. It is part of my life, and nothing can replace the memories I have of this place.

Yes, new memories will be created by the new arena, but to me, it simply won't be the same.

For your viewing pleasure, here is the final wrestling pin of the final WWE match held at the Coliseum,  a non-televised match between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt that took place immediately following the WWE RAW broadcast on Monday evening.

It was a fitting match to close out the past 40 years of pro wrestling at the old barn.