No part of New York City FC had a better 2024 than the team’s front-office executives.
Not Matt Freese, not Santi Rodríguez nor Alonso Martínez — the undisputed stars of 2024 for NYCFC were the people wearing suits (and/or colorful sports jackets) who ensured the club broke ground on its soccer stadium in Queens.
The lack of any soccer stadium to call home has held NYCFC back from reaching its full potential since the team was born. The search for a stadium in New York proper predated New York City FC and, at points during the club's existence, it seemed like it would never happen.
That wasn't the case, and the soccer-specific-stadium problem will now disappear for good in 2027 when Etihad Park opens for business.
Andrew Leigh
The Stadium Saga has long been the first and last priority for the NYCFC front office, but it wasn't the only win for the team's executives in 2024.
NYCFC pulled in hundreds of millions of dollars in investment by bringing a new co-owner into the fold, expanded the club's footprint to include the use of Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island, and saw attendance at NYCFC home matches return to pre-pandemic levels.
The business of NYCFC went in the right direction in 2024, and read on for more on all the many reasons why – plus a few minor complaints that hold the NYCFC front office back from receiving an unimpeachably perfect grade for the year.
Stadium signed, sealed, delivered
The work towards the team's ultimate goal, a permanent home, accelerated rapidly in 2024. The redevelopment of Willets Point, Queens that includes NYCFC’s stadium received its final necessary approvals from the city’s government in April, wrapping up an approval process that began in the autumn of 2023.
