Potential changes in transportation patterns of New York Islanders fans due to stadium relocation

Abstract

In 2015 the New York Islanders, a professional men’s ice hockey team in the National Hockey League, will relocate to an arena with more transportation options for fans. The team currently plays at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, Long Island, NY, with limited public transportation access. They will move 23 miles west to the Barclays Center, an arena in the heart of Brooklyn, NY, with many public transportation options. This study examined fan characteristics which may influence their likelihood of attending Islanders games at the Barclays Center, including familiarity with public transportation, frequency of game attendance, and demographic factors. An online survey of Islanders fans captured fans’ transportation behaviors when traveling to Islanders games at Nassau Coliseum and their projected frequency of attendance after the move, among other variables. Binary and ordered logistic regression models tested the significance of fan characteristics on the likelihood they attended a pre-season Islanders game held at the Barclays Center in September, 2013, and on how frequently respondents reported they will attend future games in Brooklyn. For both models, fans who use regional rail every workday, compared to those who do not, were significantly more likely to have attended the pre-season game and to report they will attend future games. Transit-use variables performed stronger in models than variables representing fans’ work locations. The results exemplify the importance of familiarity with public transportation options when making mode choice decisions, bolstering the importance of transportation demand management strategies when opening new or relocating existing large event venues.