Manhattan law firm to go to bat for $1B Belmont Park arena project

The Empire State Development Corporation has hired Manhattan law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth as a general counsel for its planned $1 billion entertainment complex at Belmont Park. Firm lawyers Mark Arnold and Carl Schwartz will head the project. Both have experience guiding major stadium deals in New York, Atlanta and Las Vegas, Long Island Business News reported. The proposal for Belmont includes an 18,000-seat arena for the New York Islanders, a 250-room hotel and 435,000-square feet for food and retail. The developer, New York Arena Partners, is made up of the Sterling Project Development Group, Scott Malkin Group and the Oak View Group. It’s currently undergoing an environmental review. [LIBN]