On August 5, 2024, the Nassau County Legislature voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Las Vegas Sands Lease for the Nassau County Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Legislators voted 19-0 to begin the environmental review (SEQRA) process, and 18-1 on the operations lease, allowing the Coliseum to continue to operate, keeping over 400 employees and management in place.
Tracey Edwards, Senior Vice President and Corporate Social Responsibility Officer said, “We are grateful to the Nassau County Legislature for approving the Nassau County Veterans Memorial Coliseum lease today in near unanimous votes of 19-0 and 18-1. With these votes, the 400+ employees and management of the Coliseum will sleep better at night knowing their jobs are safe. We are also deeply grateful to the many hundreds of supporters and community leaders that have turned out to share their voice on this project and the opportunities it holds.”
Members of organized labor rallied on the steps of the Nassau County Legislative Building to support the Sands project and urge legislators to vote YES and move the project forward.
Matty Aracich, President of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Nassau and Suffolk Counties said, “Today’s vote secured and protected careers for over 400 people who work at the coliseum. Approving the lease for the Sands means they will be able to continue to provide for their families, and that the coliseum will continue to operate.”
Valerie Fitts, Head of Security for Nassau Coliseum said, “As a Uniondale resident and long time employee of the Coliseum, I came to support the transfer of the lease to Sands. It’s unfair to me and my colleagues to ask us to live in limbo not knowing if the doors will open each day.”
For more on this development, check out the News12 story, here.
