The New York Islanders and National Hockey League officials on Monday dismissed speculation that the team or another professional hockey organization would consider moving to a 17,500-seat arena picked by Suffolk County officials as the centerpiece of a plan to develop a 40-acre tract in Ronkonkoma.
County officials announced Sunday they had selected a Chicago real estate developer to build a $1 billion complex featuring the arena and a 500-seat hotel on land between MacArthur Airport and the Long Island Rail Road’s Ronkonkoma station. County officials touted the plan — including a sports medicine facility and space for offices and retail — as an economic engine that would help revitalize Ronkonkoma.