Ledecky Tours UBS Arena Construction Site, Excited by Progress

Jon Ledecky has always been accessible to Islanders fans, whether it's on the concourse at games, dropping by watch parties or giving out his personal email and phone number.
He figures he meets about 400-500 fans a game and he listens to them, taking in feedback about the in-game experience. A lot of those conversations have influenced the plans and designs for UBS Arena.

But it's not enough for Ledecky to just pass that feedback along to an architect, or see a blueprint of an arena bowl, the Islanders Co-Owner needs to see and experience it for himself, in the same manner the fans will come 2021-22.
PLACE A DEPOSIT AT UBS ARENA
With that in mind, Ledecky took a trip out to Elmont last week for a tour of the UBS Arena construction site, spending over three hours walking the grounds. He wanted to get a sense of things from the fan perspective, such as the sightlines in the upper bowl, and the walk from the parking lot to each entrance.
"I really wanted to take a tour of the entire campus to figure out what my concerns would be if I were in the fan's shoes, or what I'd be excited about," Ledecky said. "I wanted to understand the campus design, the main entrances and the VIP entrances, the back-of-house, and I wanted to sit in the top row of the arena and see if it was as intimate as Nassau."

Ledecky's enthusiasm for the building was further affirmed by his site visit. As he's said in the past, the Isles are bringing the intimacy - and low ceiling - of the Coliseum bowl while leaving behind the long waits for the concessions and restrooms. Sitting in the top row, even in a building that's under construction, gave him that feeling.
"Sitting in the last row really felt good," Ledecky said. "It felt close, we really are going to be close to the ice even from the last row. To me that's important because every fan, whether they are in the front row or the last row, loves the Islanders and should have a special and unique time."
It's been roughly a year since the Isles broke ground at UBS Arena and the building has sprung up quickly, even with a construction pause during the COVID-19 outbreak. Steel has been largely set in place and concrete is currently being poured. The next major milestone is setting the roof truss and covering the arena bowl, which will allow crews to work through the winter months and inclement weather.
The progress can be seen
via a live cam
, or driving along the Cross Island Parkway, and the bones of the building look strong. Ledecky said they are still on track to open for the 2021-22 season and fan skepticism about the construction timeline has been replaced with optimism.

"I don't get those questions anymore. I get text messages and calls from people saying, 'wow that's unbelievable,'" Ledecky said. "They'll take a photo and send it to me, which is really sweet and makes me smile because it shows how much they love this team and are so thrilled about this actually happening."
As grand as the aerial shots of the building are, it's details that have Ledecky excited for UBS Arena. It's the eight bars facing the bowl so that fans don't miss any action when they get a drink. It's wiring the arena with state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure, which he called the "guts" of the building, so that it can evolve and adapt with the latest tech.
"The building has good DNA," Ledecky said. "It may be transparent for the fans, but it is so interesting to get that tour and see the thoughtfulness of how the building is being built, making sure the materials are the best."
While Ledecky has made a point to include fan input, the Islanders' players, coaches and staff have helped design the ideal locker room, training room and medical facilities. The player campus should be approximately 23,000 square feet when it's all said and done and is designed to meet the needs of the staff who use it most.
The arena will also be suited to the player's needs on the ice, as a state-of-the-art ice plant was delivered to the construction site on August 17. UBS Arena will feature some of the best ice in the NHL, as it features steel piping instead of PVC piping, representing the kind of investment and commitment the Isles ownership group is putting into the building.

"We're not going to make anything but the best," Ledecky said. "[It's the] Rolls Royce of ice plants. We had a lot of expert input from the NHL all the way down to making sure we weren't sparing any expense. To me that's so critical. Every time the puck is bouncing around on a rink, it's not optimal for the players."
Again, it's a detail the average fan won't necessarily see or appreciate, but it's another touch to create a top-tier arena and - along with a state-of-the-art practice facility - help make the Isles a free-agent destination.
"It's all a mosaic, every piece fits into the other piece," Ledecky said. "Having [Head Coach] Barry [Trotz] and [President and GM] Lou [Lamoriello] is another positive part of the narrative and having this beautiful facility is certainly helpful in building a team that can compete for the Stanley Cup year after year."
Ledecky's site visit was also about thanking the construction crews who are bringing the building to life. It's their hard work that had the building ahead of schedule and able to absorb the State-mandated construction pause in the spring. The organization has made a point to give out shirts and other Isles merch to the crew as a token of appreciation.

"The construction workers have done a terrific job," Ledecky said. "A once-in-a-lifetime, unprecedented pandemic slowed the project down, but they'd gotten ahead of themselves with the great weather we had last winter. We're on course to play our games there in the 2021-22 season, and we're eager about the opportunity to do so."
More progress is made every day and seeing another piece of the building put in place has Ledecky excited. As the building goes up, something comes down - the clock on site counting down the days until the 2021-22 season.
"That really brings it home that this is going to happen," Ledecky said. "Every day, a day gets ticked off the calendar."