Former Islanders owner Charles Wang dies at 74

Charles Wang had seen one hockey game before he bought the Islanders, and he was then the main reason they never left New York. He built a computer empire, not without controversy, but couldn’t build his famous Lighthouse Project in Uniondale, also not without controversy.

He was a monumental philanthropist and loved his Islanders just as much as he loved his adopted home of Oyster Bay, Long Island. He was a singularly unique person in drive, character and sense of humor.

The Islanders and the NHL are better for his stewardship. He sold his majority stake in 2016 to Scott Malkin, Jon Ledecky and Dewey Shay, who are now en route to building a new arena for the team at Belmont Park.

Wang died Sunday at his home, surrounding by his family. He had been suffering from lung cancer and in failing health for the past few years and it finally gave out after he packed a lot of living into 74 years.

“We are heartbroken by the news of Charles Wang’s passing,” Ledecky said in a statement. “Charles loved the Islanders unconditionally. The arena at Belmont Park will be just one of his many legacies left to the team and to Long Island. His unique personality, his wonderful sense of humor and his extraordinary wisdom will be greatly missed.”

Wang was born in Shanghai, China, and came with his family to the United States at the age of 8. He attended Brooklyn Technical High School and graduated from Queens College with degrees in mathematics and physics. In 1976, he started Computer Associates International — later known as CA and then CA Technologies — with Queens College buddy, Russell Artzt. It was one of the biggest employers on Long Island, at its peak having some 20,000 employees, moving offices first to Jericho and then to its current location in Islandia.

Wang retired in 2000, and in 2006, the company’s former chief executive, Sanjay Kumar, pleaded guilty in a $2.2 billion accounting scandal that put him in jail for almost 10 years. He said Wang “personally directed” the wrongdoings, but Wang and the company denied it.

Soon after Wang retired, he bought the Islanders, the once-proud franchise that had fallen into financial ruin through some bad ownership and management. Their home at the Nassau Coliseum was falling apart, and moving the franchise was a definite possibility.

Wang proposed to privately fund a $1 billion project to redevelop the area in and around the Coliseum, but he could never get through all the governmental red tape. There was also a $400 million bond issue vote for a new arena in 2011, but it was shortsighted and shot down by the public.

Ironically enough, there is now another proposal very similar to the Lighthouse to develop the area around the Coliseum — which underwent an overpriced $175 million face-lift in 2016. But the good news for Islanders fans is that the team is still here, having played at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center since 2015 and splitting games this season between Brooklyn and the Coliseum. They will likely move all games to the Coliseum for next season and beyond until the new arena at Belmont Park is ready — scheduled for the 2021-22 season.

Wang also was deeply involved in charitable endeavors, starting Smile Train in 1999, providing surgery for children in underdeveloped countries. Among his many large donations, he gave $52 million to Stony Brook University for an Asian-American building that bears his name.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman credited Wang with keeping the Islanders in New York, as well as developing the streaming service that the league uses now to broadcast games across the world. That includes China, where Wang was adamant about growing the game while starting a widespread hockey program called Project HOPE.

“Charles Wang was a great man,” current Islanders president and general manager Lou Lamoriello said in a statement. “He always spoke of his love for the Long Island community and the passionate fan base. Long Island would not have a team if it were not for Charles. Most importantly, we’ve all lost a great friend.”

Wang is survived by his wife, Nancy Li, and their children, Kimberly, Jasmine and Cameron.