The New York Islanders hockey team played at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum from 1972 to 2015; the New York Nets basketball team played there from 1972 to 1977. In the fall of 2015, both teams were scheduled to share the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
 
The Nassau Coliseum was nicknamed the “Mausoleum” by at least 1989 and 1990, when the Islanders fielded bad teams and played before small crowds. The “Mausoleum” nickname was used frequently by fans of the rival New York Rangers hockey team.
 
Islander fans—in winning seasons—called the Nassau Vetersns Memorial Coliseum as “Fort Neverlose.”
 
     
Wikipedia: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (commonly known as Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York. The Coliseum is located approximately 19 miles (31 km) east of New York City on Long Island. Opened in 1972, the Coliseum occupies 63 acres (25 ha) of Mitchel Field, site of a former Army and Air Force base. The facility is located in the Town of Hempstead, within the Uniondale 11553 ZIP code. The Coliseum is used for sporting events, concerts, large exhibitions and shows of various kinds, as well as trade shows — 44,000 square feet (4,100 m2) at the main arena, 60,000 at the Expo Center. The arena served as the home for the New York Islanders hockey team from 1972 to 2015 and the New York Nets basketball team from 1972 to 1977.
         
Newsday (Long Island, NY)
Coliseum or Mausoleum? Loss leaves Isles 0-4-2 on home ice
[NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition]
Newsday - Long Island, N.Y.
Author: By Sherry Ross
Date: Nov 1, 1989
Start Page: 122
Section: SPORTS
Abstract (Document Summary)
The effort has been there, the Islanders insist, but the results have not. And, so far, neither have the fans. A sparse crowd of 10,429 showed up at Nassau Coliseum on Halloween, creating a real spook-house atmosphere with its silence during the Islanders’ 3-0 loss to the Canadiens. Among the no-shows at the postmortems was coach Al Arbour, who had nothing to say to reporters. Arbour celebrates his 57th birthday today, but is probably feeling much older.
 
Google Groups: rec.sport.hockey
Winnipeg Jets (Was: Dale Hawerchuk)
Gary L Dare
12/6/90
(...)
WFAN’s Steve Sommers on the overnight yap show calls the Isles’ home rink the Nassau Mausoleum, and from the games I’ve seen on TV I’d agree.
 
Google Groups: rec.sport.hockey
EXPANSION NAMES?
Brian Mac Millan
2/22/93
(...)
>seeing the Isles move to Texas…it would sure make a hell of a lot of Islander
>fans miserable. 😊 (I mean, come on, between New York City, and Hempstead, LI,
>or wherever the hell the Mausoleum is, I think the Manhattan team deserves to
>stay…)
Its in Uniondale and the Mausoleum is what the Rangers probably call as they can’t win a game there.
     
Google Groups: rec.sport.hockey
New York ISLANDERS III
Robert J Barron
4/13/94
(...)
You also on another post said the Rangers haven’t won at the Mausoleum all year.
 
Google Books
Imus, Mike and the Mad Dog, & Doris from Rego Park:
The Groundbreaking History of WFAN
By Tim Sullivan
Chicago, IL: Triumph Books LLC
2013
Pg. 86:
And the “Ice-landers,” who have typically played in front of small home crowds the last three decades, skate in the friendly confines of the “Nassau Mausoleum,” not Coliseum.
 
Twitter
Drew McCoy
‏@DrewMTips
Two wishes for the NHL Playoffs:
1- Rangers win the Cup
2- They end 2nd round by beating the Islanders in the last game at the Mausoleum.
9:23 AM - 13 Apr 2015
 
NJ.com
New York Islanders’ ice removed from Nassau Coliseum one last time (PHOTOS)
By Charles Curtis | For NJ Advance Media
on May 05, 2015 at 3:26 PM, updated May 05, 2015 at 4:07 PM
Devils, Rangers and Flyers fans might have some particularly special memories from visits to Nassau Coliseum when their respective teams played the New York Islanders
(...)
The photos are both beautiful and haunting all at once. You’ll leave with one thought: The arena’s derogatory nickname, “the Mausoleum,” might be the most appropriate in describing what you see.