nassau-coliseum

Nassau Coliseum closing for renovations (after a Billy Joel concert which sold out really quickly)

Nassau Coliseum

Nassau Coliseum, don’t go changing, to try and please me. You never let me down before. I took the good times. I’ll take the bad times. I’ll take you just the way you are!

Oh, fuck it. Say goodbye to Nassau Coliseum. Say goodbye my baby.

A press release released today reads:

Tickets for Billy Joel in the final show at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum have sold out in less than five minutes, generating one of the quickest selling concerts ever at the Coliseum. Tickets went on sale this morning at 10 a.m.

The world-renowned Long Island artist will play on Tuesday, August 4 before the venue closes for an extensive renovation. The arena will reopen as a world-class sports and entertainment destination in December 2016.

“Billy Joel closing Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and it’s only fitting that this show is one of the quickest sellouts ever at the Coliseum,” said Brett Yormark, CEO of Barclays Center, who will oversee Nassau Events Center’s reimagined venue. “We are honored to have Long Island’s favorite son play the final show before we begin to create a spectacular venue that the community deserves.”

Joel, who was raised in Hicksville and remains a Long Island resident, has played 31 shows at Nassau Coliseum. His last solo appearance was in 1998 when he sold out nine shows, setting the building record for the most sellouts in one year. A banner with his name hangs in the rafters in his honor.

The show is presented by Bruce Ratner and Nassau Events Center (NEC), the same management team behind Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The centerpiece of a major lifestyle and retail development, the reimagined Coliseum will be developed, operated, and programmed by NEC.

The Who, New Kids on the Block, TLC, Nelly, and Shania Twain will also play Nassau Coliseum this summer before it closes.

Billy Joel also continues to play every month at the Garden.

Gene Ween pays tribute to Billy Joel at much smaller shows later this month.