NEW YORK – New York City FC is in the midst of presentationsThis week, the MLS franchise showed off its redesigned crest and details of its new stadium, which they hope to open in 2027.
At the club’s offices in Manhattan, NYCFC has created the “Stadium Experience,” an experience for customers, partners and, later, fans to experience what the stadium will look like, which will be located in Willets Point, Queens, next to the current Citi Field, home of the New York Mets.
It will be the first stadium dedicated exclusively to soccer in New York City. It will have a capacity of 25,000 people and will be seen in all its splendor from planes landing at LaGuardia Airport.
The MLS Cup won by NYCFC in 2021 presides over the “Stadium Experience”.Credit: Tommie Battle/New York City FC | Courtesy
Among other technological advances, the stadium’s roof will be covered in solar panels and the most visible entrance, the one closest to the Mets-Willets Point station on Metro Line 7, will have a corner like “The Cube” illuminated with huge LED screens.
The opposite corner of the stadium will feature a special terrace for Third Rail fans, the club’s “bar.” This “supporters porch” will have 9,000 square feet and a capacity for 3,500 people.
A delay of several years
Model of the stadium on view at NYCFC’s “Stadium Experience.”Credit: Tommie Battle/New York City FC | Courtesy
When NYCFC joined MLS more than 10 years ago in 2013, the commitment was to have its own stadium in less than five years. But the project was delayed until now.
“Building in New York is difficult,” explains NYCFC CEO Brad Sims. “Not just stadiums, but any type of project. The hardest part is finding the land. We could easily have had a stadium much sooner if we had gone outside the five boroughs, but our commitment was to build a soccer-specific stadium within the five boroughs.”
Sims commented that in the six years he has been at the helm of the franchise They considered “a dozen potential locations” for the stadium, some of them in the Bronx, since the New York Yankees are investors in the club. But when the possibility of building near Yankee Stadium closed in 2021, they looked again to Queens, the “first option from the beginning.”
Following some opposition from local neighborhood groups, the Willes Point project received City Council approval in April of this year.
The stadium will have two types of suites, in the one in the image the experience will be like in a restaurant, with food served at the table.Credit: Tommie Battle/New York City FC | Courtesy
“It took longer than we wanted, but we are proud to be here today fulfilling that promise,” added Sims, who stressed that the $780 million project It is 100% privately financed, something very unusual in stadium construction in the United States.
The land will remain under the ownership of the City of New York, which is leasing it to NYCFC through a long-term lease.
Possible national team matches
“New York is a city made up of people from all countries of the world. NYCFC having a stadium within the five boroughs is going to be a game changer. And not just for NYCFC, but for having world-class events here. “When was the last time the men’s or women’s national team played in the five boroughs? 30, 40, 50 years ago? I don’t know, I’d have to look it up!” she said. Dan Courtemanche, Chief Communications Officer de la MLS.
Courtemanche highlighted the “huge potential” for the stadium for national team matchesnot only from the United States, but from countries like Colombia and Ecuador, with large communities in Queens and the rest of the city.
“Stadium Experience” space where you can see the redesigned NYCFC crest.Credit: Tommie Battle/New York City FC | Courtesy
This stadium will be the 28th built or renovated specifically for MLS. The location, next to Citi Field and the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center where the US Open is played each year, is well known to sports fans. It is accessible via public transportation with the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) and the 7 train. The parking lots will be shared with the New York Mets and the contract stipulates that Mets and NYCFC cannot play on the same day..
“It’s better to take your time and do it right than to make the wrong decision,” Courtemanche added of NYCFC’s delay in building its own stadium.
· For more information about the stadium
