2023 Midterm Report Card: NYCFC Stadium Saga

Welcome to the 2023 edition of Hudson River Blue’s Midterm Report Cards, in which we analyze and grade New York City FC‘s performances so far this season. Next up: A midseason progress report on the Willets Point soccer stadium. 

A lot has happened since November 16, 2022, the fateful day that saw New York City FC and Mayor Eric Adams announce plans for New York City’s first-ever soccer stadium as part of a massive redevelopment of Willets Point in Queens. 

NYCFC’s permanent home is still scheduled to open across the street from Citi Field in time for the 2027 MLS season. That big plan remains somewhat tentative, though, as the Willets Point project is still going through New York City’s mandatory Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), meaning the stadium and its affiliated redevelopment of what was once the “Valley of Ashes” is not a completely done deal just yet.

The 200-plus days since the stadium announcement have also not been all smooth sailing for this complex construction project. 

It’s been revealed that Steve Cohen, the billionaire hedge funder who owns the Mets and neighboring Citi Field, hates the idea of a soccer stadium coming to town and is playing hardball over sharing Citi Field’s parking lots with NYCFC’s future Willets Point arena.

Cohen’s parking lot hardball could prove costly, as there is reportedly a minimum number of around 1,000 parking spots that must be made available for future NYCFC Willets Point stadium home matches. 

• Mayor and Mets owner hold “spirited” discussion “about the fate” of NYCFC stadium
• Steve Cohen’s Willets Point casino suffers political setback

The strife between NYCFC’s stadium project and Steve Cohen and his planned Willets Point casino has led to “spirited” discussions between Cohen, Mayor Adams, and local City Council member Francisco Moya “about the fate” of the NYCFC stadium project.

If all this sounds concerning, it should, because the stadium situation remains very much unsettled. The ULURP process is slow, expected to drag on into the spring of 2024, and NYCFC now has to fend off an angry billionaire neighbor who is looking to mess up their Willets Point redevelopment plan in order to help the case for his own scheme to redevelop the Citi Field parking lots. 

• NYCFC release new renderings of Willets Point stadium
• NYCFC pick HOK to design Queens stadium

So far, NYCFC’s project has remained on track despite this parking lot-related drama. Unlike Cohen’s big casino plan, which recently hit a major political roadblock, NYCFC’s portion of the Willets Point redevelopment retains support among local elected officials and, so far, has not faced much vocal local community opposition. That a big chunk of affordable housing is set to be built in conjunction with the NYCFC stadium gives the NYCFC Willets Point project an added boost, given the city’s ongoing housing affordability crisis. 

The terms of the NYCFC stadium deal also haven’t come in for much criticism, save for an attempt by the New York Times to call into question the lack of property taxes generated by NYCFC’s stadium, given it will be built on land New York City leases to the team. That report, however, took a cherry-picking approach to its data and to its discussion of other stadium deals in New York City and State. 

None of these real or perceived threats to the stadium project have thus far succeeded in derailing it. The timeline for opening hasn’t been altered, but both the ULURP and Steve Cohen proxy war linger as ongoing points of serious concern. 

It’s also not been all doom and gloom. There have been some exciting stadium developments since the initial November announcement, chief among them when NYCFC announced the selection of an architect, and when that architectural firm, HOK, released some initial stadium renderings. 

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The club also started surveying its season-ticket holders about pricing and amenities to be offered at the Willets Point stadium, with NYCFC even gauging supporter interest in a hypothetical women’s team also sharing the Queens soccer stadium once it opens. 

The stadium still has a long way to go, and there appear to be many more hurdles to be cleared before what NYCFC CEO Brad Sims says will be a Queens “Cathedral of Soccer” actually gets built. 

On balance, the fact that the huge development remains on track means the first half of 2023 has to go down as a success, especially when weighed against the history of setbacks that have to date plagued NYCFC’s stadium search. The Steve Cohen-related drama is concerning and might have the potential to screw up NYCFC’s stadium plans, but that’s not yet the case.

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The NYCFC stadium dream remains alive and well, but the months ahead will be crucial. There are multiple more layers of the ULURP review process to go through, and there will be an eventual decision made to award New York’s three “downstate” casino licenses, which will have a big impact on Steve Cohen and his own plans for Citi Field-adjacent redevelopment. 

More twists and turns could still be in store for NYCFC in its existence-long stadium saga, but for now, things continue to trend toward that big 2027 unveiling. 

Midterm Grade: A