Some racegoers walked through the rows of parked vehicles to enter Belmont Park at the West Paddock Gate on Saturday, one of several entrances to the sprawling grandstand. If all goes to plan, that landscape will soon be vastly changed.
That’s where the planned new home for the Islanders would be nestled, between the grandstand, Hempstead Turnpike and the current LIRR station.
And while there were no signs of construction on Saturday, it wasn’t hard for Islanders’ fans in attendance for the Belmont Stakes to imagine returning for a hockey game.
“Yeah, I can envision it,” said Islanders’ season-ticket holder Melissa Strafford of Yaphank, standing near the Belmont rail on a brilliantly sunny afternoon.