(New York) New York Mayor Eric Adams announced plans for a 25,000-seat stadium for MLS’s New York City FC near the New York Mets’ home of Citi Field .
The US$780 million stadium is set to open in 2027, in Willets Point.
It will be the heart of a 23-acre project that will also include 2,500 affordable housing units, a new public school and a hotel, officials said.
“We have a unique opportunity to create a whole new neighborhood,” Adams said at a press conference with other elected officials, as well as MLS representatives and project developers.
The new stadium will be the first dedicated to professional soccer in New York.
League champions in 2021, New York City FC have played the majority of their home games at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx since joining the league in 2015.
The stadium will be privately funded by the Yankees and owners of New York City FC, including Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates.
The sheikh also owns Manchester City, in the Premier League.
“Today is one of the most memorable days in our big league history,” said MLS commissioner Don Garber, who grew up near the site of the planned stadium.
Garber said he had dreamed for 12 years of a “cathedral” for soccer in Queens.
For decades, Willets Point has been seen in part as a hodgepodge of body shops, lacking proper sewers.
New York City owns the land and will lease it to the club and housing development team.
This group includes Related Companies and Sterling Equities, which is partly controlled by the Wilpon family, the former owners of the Mets.
The stadium will be adjacent to Citi Field, where the Mets play, and the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the site of the United States Open tennis tournament.
