50 years of memories: Islanders close the door on the ‘Old Barn’

The Nassau Coliseum was where the Isles’ dynasty was born in the 1980s and where legends lived on in the rafters. But every year, game after game, it was the people in the stands that gave the Old Barn life.

News 12 Staff

Jun 28, 2021, 10:20 PM

Updated 1,296 days ago

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Done are the days of making new memories in the Old Barn, but the Islanders’ magical run through the Stanley Cup Playoffs was certainly a great way to close the lights in Uniondale.
“It's a special building for this organization,” said Josh Bailey during media availability at the Coliseum on Monday. “It's meant so much to us playing there.”
The Nassau Coliseum was where the Isles’ dynasty was born in the 1980s and where legends lived on in the rafters. But every year, game after game, it was the people in the stands that gave the Old Barn life.
“You can feel it, there are a lot of buildings that are loud, but this one just has a different sort of tone to it,” said Cal Clutterbuck.
This year, the tone started with the quietness of cardboard fans and then ended with the pandemonium of the playoffs. Coach Barry Trotz said that the playoff run “helped the Island heal” after a hard pandemic-stricken year.
“It was, I use the term, medicine for this area, for the fan base,” he said.
The Islanders will move to UBS Arena at Belmont Park next season. The first game there has not yet been announced.