The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum was the second-oldest facility in the NHL behind only the twice renovated Madison Square Garden. It was also the second-smallest arena in the league, only larger than the Winnipeg Jets' MTS Centre. Various attempts had been made to pursue a renovation or replacement of the aging facility, including the Lighthouse Project—a 2004 proposal to renovate the Coliseum and build a larger sports, entertainment, and residential district around it (including a minor league ballpark, and a 60-story high-rise from which the proposal derived its name). While a version of the Lighthouse Project was approved by Nassau County, the town of Hempstead never granted a change in zoning that was required for its construction, and the project was reported to have been cancelled.

In May 2010, Jeff Wilpon, then COO of the New York Mets of Major League Baseball, had discussions with then-Islanders owner Charles Wang about constructing a new arena for the Islanders in the Willets Point neighborhood of Queens, adjacent to the Mets' ballpark, Citi Field. Wilpon also discussed the possibility of buying the Islanders.

On July 12, 2010, Hempstead supervisor Kate Murray announced an “alternate zone” created for the Coliseum property, downsizing the original Lighthouse Project to half its proposed size and making the project, according to then-Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano and the developers, "economically unviable for both the developer and owner of the site". From that point, the Lighthouse Project would no longer be pursued by Wang, Mangano and the developers.

In June 2010, FanHouse reported that Jeff and Fred Wilpon, the owner of the Mets at the time, had begun working with real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle (who also worked on the renovation of Madison Square Garden) on a feasibility study of a new Islanders arena in Queens. However, a source from Newsday indicated that the FanHouse report was not true. There were also reports that businessman Nelson Peltz wanted to buy the Islanders and move them to Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

In August 2011, Nassau County voters voted against a referendum that would have granted a $400 million public bond to construct a $350 million arena and $50 million minor league ballpark. The plan was presented by Wang as a last-ditch effort to keep the Islanders in Nassau County. In October 2012, the Islanders announced that they would re-locate to Barclays Center in Brooklyn once their lease of the Coliseum expires after the 2014–15 season. Meanwhile, a group led by Bruce Ratner (who had developed Barclays Center) secured an $89 million bid to renovate the Coliseum, aiming to host a minor hockey team as its main tenant, and have six Islanders games played there per-season.

As Barclays Center was designed primarily as a basketball arena, its hockey configuration was criticized by fans for having seats with obstructed views, while its ice quality was criticized as substandard by players.

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