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NY Hockey OnLine
ockey and istory = Fun at Aviator
By Randy Schultz Randy@nyhockeyonline.com
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Feature / Page 5
t is 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning in early October. Inside the Aviator Sports and Events Center in Brooklyn, NY Steven Samuels watches his son playing hockey. Although his focus is on his son, his mind can’t help but wonder as he looks up into the rafters high above the ice surface. “It’s amazing what they did with these buildings,” commented Samuels. “It’s still hard to believe that these two buildings were once airplane hangers and part of the Floyd Bennett Field.” Hard to believe indeed. Once an important New York City airport, Floyd Bennett Field is now part of the Gateway National Recreation Area and dedicated to the celebration of aviation history, sports, and the great outdoors. The Aviator Sports and Events Center has parking for over 2500 cars, 175,000 square feet of total indoor events, athletics, and recreation space for individuals, families, and groups, 10,000 square foot field house, two outdoor synthetic turf fields with bleacher seating
for over 5000 spectators and outdoor events space for festivals, fairs, concerts, and community oriented entertainment, with seating for over 4000. Inside are two NHL-sized ice rinks, an indoor soccer field, full-sized basketball court, fitness center, gymnastics center, rock climbing center, meeting and events rooms, a full-service sports restaurant, snack bar and catering service. For Samuels, it has been a trip back in time every time he comes into the hockey arena. “I was stationed here from 1968 through 1972,” remembered Samuels. “I was in the Air National Guard and I was based here in Brooklyn. “The buildings here were all fully active. Shortly after 1972 the buildings were shut down. “The airport is still being operated for the New York City Police Department aviation unit. In 2004 the City began the project which is now Aviator Sports Park, which opened in 2006.
“To me it is an honor to play in a facility like this.” Floyd Bennett Field opened as New York City’s first municipal airport in May 1931. It was built at the far end of Flatbush Avenue where Brooklyn meets Jamaica Bay. Floyd Bennett Field was named for the pilot of Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s first flight to the North Pole in 1926. Bennett died in 1928. Interestingly, work began on New York City’s first municipal airport on October 29, 1929. That turned out to be the same day that the stock market crashed, bringing on the Great Depression, which lasted through the 1930’s. Unfortunately Floyd Bennett’s time as a commercial airport ended with the beginning of World War II. That’s when it became a crucial naval air station. It continued as a facility for military pilot training and testing of experimental aircraft through the Korean War, as well as the Vietnam War and