New York City officials have given the green light to a proposal to construct a 25,000-seat stadium for Major League Soccer’s New York City FC adjacent to the New York Mets’ stadium, Citi Field. The ambitious $780 million plan also involves the development of a 23-acre area in the Willets Point neighborhood, which will feature housing, a new public school, retail stores, and a hotel. This project aims to revitalize the neighborhood and provide a dedicated venue for professional soccer in the city.
The upcoming soccer stadium will mark New York City’s first facility dedicated solely to professional soccer. Despite winning the MLS championship in 2021, NYCFC has been utilizing Yankee Stadium in the Bronx as its primary home ground since joining the league in 2015. However, due to scheduling issues with the New York Yankees, the team has had to resort to playing matches at Citi Field and occasionally at the home of their MLS rivals, the New York Red Bulls.
Neighborhood and Financial Implications
Aside from being situated near Citi Field, the new soccer stadium will be in close proximity to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where the US Open takes place. The City Council’s approval of the project comes after numerous unsuccessful attempts to transform Willets Point, a once industrial area filled with auto body shops. While city officials assert that the stadium will be privately financed by NYCFC’s owners, including the Yankees and Manchester City Football Club’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the city’s Independent Budget Office suggests a potential $516 million cost to taxpayers over the course of the team’s 49-year lease. This figure is based on the property tax revenue the city would have received if the land was sold instead of leased to the stadium developers.
The collaborative team behind the Willets Point project includes Related Companies and Sterling Equities, a group affiliated with the Wilpon family, previous owners of the Mets. This consortium will play a pivotal role in overseeing the construction and implementation of the stadium and the overall neighborhood redevelopment. With the financial and logistical aspects in place, the focus now shifts towards the successful completion of the project and the anticipated benefits it will bring to the community.
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