from Jim Baumbach and Robert Brodsky of Newsday,

The Islanders’ proposal to build a new arena at Belmont Park in Elmont has been selected as the winning bid, the state announced Wednesday.

“I always felt when the Islanders left they left a hole in the heart of Long Island,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said at a news conference at the racetrack. “The Islanders are back where they belong. It feels right. It feels good.”

The Islanders’ bid includes an 18,000-seat, year-round arena that would host 150 events annually as well as 435,000 square feet of space for retail, a hotel with 200 to 250 rooms, and a 10,000-square-foot “innovation center” that would be developed with resident input.

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