New York Islanders, Barclays Center to make 'major announcement'

The New York Islanders and Barclays Center are set to make a "major announcement" at the arena in Brooklyn at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

A variety of big New York names will be at the press conference, including Islanders owner Charles B. Wang, Barclays Center majority owner Bruce Ratner, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

There's been speculation for several years that the Islanders could leave the New York area, as attempts to build a new arena in Nassau County have fallen flat. Their lease deal with the aging Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum ends in 2015.

The idea of moving the Islanders to the Barclays Center has been thrown around for at least a year now. The team was scheduled to play a preseason game at the new arena this fall, but the game was wiped out by the ongoing NHL lockout.

Also in attendance at the press conference will be Brooklyn Borough president Marty Markowitz, Islanders general manager Garth Snow and Barclays Center and Brooklyn Nets CEO Brett Yormark.

The Islanders have been in New York for 39 years. Last season, the Islanders were 34-37 under head coach Jack Capuano. It was their fifth straight fifth-place finish in the Atlantic Division.

The Islanders won four Stanley Cups in a row from 1979-80 through 1982-83.