Video: Wang Pushes For Coliseum Project

New York Islanders owner Charles Wang lobbied for a new Nassau Coliseum Tuesday night at Carlyle on the Green at Bethpage State Park. 

The event was sponsored by Action Long Island, a group that promotes business and economic interest in the area.  

"Nassau County – and I’m sure you understand this – needs a swift kick in the butt," Wang told the crowd. "We need to grow by saving the jobs we have and creating new ones. We need to preserve our revenue streams, and generate new ones. We need to create a destination, a location, so we can have an identity that being, ‘20 minutes from Manhattan.’"

Taxpayers will vote on Aug. 1 on whether or not to borrow up to $400 million for the massive infrastructure project. The new arena needs the public vote to pass, as well as

Supporters of the project have said that it will create and keep thousands of jobs on Long Island, as well as maintain quality of life in the area. Critics argue that it will only increase taxes on residents that already can’t afford them.

"We’re investing in ourselves so we can create opportunities for ourselves and the next generation and after that,” Wang said.

One question from the crowd brought up the possibility of the vote not passing on Aug. 1. Wang reiterated that this is the only option for the team, given the time it takes to build a new Coliseum. Construction on the Coliseum would start next June.

"There is no Plan B,” Wang said. “If we don’t push shovel in the ground in 2012 we’re not going to be able to do it."