City Council approves soccer stadium, small turnout for the team's season home opener in Citifield

 

 QNS

Willets Point’s long-awaited transformation from industrial wasteland to Queens’ newest neighborhood got the green light from the City Council Thursday.

The legislature approved on Apr. 11 a massive redevelopment that includes a brand new soccer stadium for the New York City Football Club (NYCFC), which has played home games at Yankee Stadium or Citi Field since its inception, and a 100% 2,500-unit affordable housing project that is the city’s largest in four decades.

Mayor Eric Adams called the plan “the goal of the decade” that will generate billions of dollars in new economic activity, and tens of thousands of jobs, through not only the new soccer stadium and housing, but also more than 20,000 square feet of retail and a 250-room hotel.

“We’re building a brand-new community out of the ‘Valley of Ashes’, and we couldn’t have done it without all our partners, including Councilmember [Francisco] Moya and the rest of the City Council, [Queens] Borough President [Donovan] Richards, NYCFC, Queens Development Group, our union members, and everyone living in Willets Point who made their voices heard and demanded a new future for themselves,” the mayor said on Thursday. “After today’s vote, we’re one step closer to delivering that future.”

For years, the city and the Queens community has debated the fate of Willets Point, which for decades has been home to junkyards, auto repair shops and light industry. Even as Shea Stadium rose and was eventually replaced by Citi Field, the industry in the “Valley of Ashes” persisted beyond the Mets outfield while visions for redevelopment never seemed to get off the ground.

 QNS

Thousands of New York City Football Club (NYCFC) fans packed Citi Field on Saturday, Apr. 6, for the team’s first home game in Queens this season, playing against Atlanta United FC. This match marked the beginning of a series of five straight home games, equaling the club’s all-time record for consecutive home matches.

Fans from across the five boroughs packed Citi Field to support their “Boys in Blue” for an eventful night. Kick-off was scheduled for 7 p.m., but fans, especially from NYCFC’s official supporter groups, arrived early for pregame celebrations outside the stadium.

The match started with NYCFC’s early possession of the ball to mount almost-immediate pressure, including a header from center back Thiago Martins that was parried away by the Atlanta United keeper.

NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese was impressive in his own right, saving multiple attempts from Atlanta. In the tenth minute, he showed the breadth of his skills, catching a header directed toward his goal comfortably.

In the 39th minute, NYCFC was awarded a penalty. Santiago Rodriguez put the hosts in front from the spot for his third goal of the season in the 42nd minute.

Tensions were rising in the second half and Atlanta pressure paid off in the 66th minute when Jamal Thiare found an equalizer that ultimately rescued a point for the visitors — the match ending in a 1-1 draw.

Rodriguez was awarded the Man of the Match honors, but NYCFC’s slow start to the season continued as they have taken just five points (1-2-4) from their first seven games of the 2024 MLS season.

Uh, oh...

Soccer trickle down housing

New York Times

The stadium would be the first significant major-league sports venue to be built in the city since 2012, and is set to be the focal point of a 23-acre project that includes a 250-room hotel and 2,500 units of housing. Officials say the project would be the city’s largest development of entirely affordable housing since the Mitchell-Lama developments of the 1970s.

The deal represents Mayor Eric Adams’s most ambitious economic development initiative and comes as he is about to complete his first year in office. It also spells the end of two sagas: the team’s decade-long search for a dedicated soccer stadium and an even longer conundrum about the future of Willets Point, a once thriving conglomeration of auto body shops.

“Queens, which is the world’s borough, now will become the home of soccer, which is the world’s sport,” Maria Torres-Springer, the deputy mayor for economic and workforce development, said in an interview on Tuesday.

Unlike many stadium deals, including one for the Buffalo Bills negotiated this year by Gov. Kathy Hochul that included nearly $900 million in public funds, city officials said subsidies for this project are largely limited to infrastructure improvements at the site and property tax breaks for the stadium.

The soccer team will pay for the entire construction of the stadium, which is estimated to cost $780 million, city officials said. Neither tax-exempt bond financing nor direct city capital infusions will be used, according to Andrew Kimball, the president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. The developers are not getting abatements on mortgage recording or sales taxes, he said. But the stadium owners will not have to pay real estate taxes for the duration of the lease.

Soccer team is going to get a new arena

 

  Queens Chronicle

The possibility of a soccer stadium for the New York City Football Club at Willets Point seemed closer to reality this earlier this week.

During a webinar on the borough’s economic impact with Travis Terry, chief operating officer of the Capalino Group, and Queens Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Grech, Borough President Donovan Richards spoke about the future of tourism in Queens.

“Even if you like soccer, the redevelopment of Willets Point — which I think is gonna, we’re gonna have some announcements on — with the football club, New York Football Club,” Richards said.

Asked for further comment on the borough president’s remarks, a spokesperson for Richards wrote in an email to the Chronicle, “Borough President Richards was expressing his optimism about the future of various infrastructure, transportation and cultural investments in Queens — including the all-encompassing redevelopment of Willets Point.

“The Borough President is laser focused on ensuring Queens becomes a true live-work-play destination, and will work with any organization or entity to help make that happen.”

As the Chronicle previously reported, NYCFC’s owners have pitched a stadium to Mayor Adams, among several other elected officials. That prompted a protest from Corona residents and demonstrators from Nos Quedamos Queens and the Black Leadership Action Coalition, the latter of which is led by longtime activist Bertha Lewis.

F your soccer stadium

 

 

 Queens Chronicle

A group of activists and Corona residents gathered along the outer wall of the Willets Point construction site, where Phase 1 of the city’s development project is underway, to voice their opposition to the potential building of a soccer stadium in the area this past Sunday.

Though Mayor Adams’ office told the Chronicle that no agreement has been made for a stadium — which would permanently house the New York City Football Club — at this point, state lobbying records show that the team’s owners, the City Football Group, have pitched the stadium to numerous area stakeholders, including Adams and Councilman Francisco Moya (D-Corona) [see separate story].

Upon hearing the news, longtime activist Bertha Lewis joined forces with the Black Leadership Action Coalition, Nos Quedamos Queens and former Councilman and state Sen. Hiram Monserrate, for Sunday’s rally.

“Our city, as the mayor has stated, has a housing crisis,” Monserrate said Sunday afternoon. “But somehow, our local councilmember and others have concocted a scheme to build another, fourth stadium in this neighborhood — number four — 25,000 more seats, when people don’t have a damn place to live.”

The news of a potential NYCFC stadium is the latest in a years-long saga surrounding development proposed for the area, during which time a previous soccer stadium, a shopping mall and, most recently, a casino, have been proposed for the broader Willets Point-Flushing Meadows Corona Park area. All of those plans, including the casino, have been met with widespread opposition from residents in the surrounding communities.

Not only do stadium opponents believe that the need for housing supersedes the need for the borough’s fourth stadium, but the 1,100 units of housing slated for Willets Point is far fewer than the 5,500 agreed upon in 2007 (a deal Monserrate helped broker), prior to the construction of Citi Field.

“It’s an insult. It’s ridiculous,” Lewis told the Chronicle. “1,100 units. And, oh, we’re supposed to be happy with that? It’s the same story.”

She added that 5,500 units of housing need to be built before anything else is, along with the school the public was promised; the latter is part of the current plan.

One of the chief arguments in favor of building a soccer stadium at Willets Point is that it would create a myriad of new jobs, both in the construction process and once the stadium opens. But Lewis rejects that argument outright.

“You mean selling hot dogs and popcorn? You think that’s a nice career? Don’t give me that bulls--t,” Lewis said.

 

Mayor Adams approves stadium in Flushing for soccer team

 

 NY Post

Mayor Eric Adams is expected to announce that he is onboard with plans for a 25,000-seat soccer stadium to be built near Citi Field that will be home to the New York City Football Club, sources close to the situation said.

“A deal is close, but negotiations are ongoing,” a source said.

Even with the mayor’s blessing the stadium would still need to be approved through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) which is not a given, sources said.

Still, a new stadium for the reigning MLS Cup Champions could be built by 2025, a source said.

The NYCFC has been nomadic playing home games this season at Yankee Stadium, Citi Field and Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. So the prospect of a permanent home would be welcome news to their loyal fan base.

It likely also would be built in time for the 2026 World Cup which is being held in New York City and New Jersey.

Media reports a few months ago said a new stadium would most likely be built in the Bronx, but that is no longer the case, sources said.

 

Bills Mafia's goumada

 

 Times Union

Gov. Kathy Hochul and western Democratic lawmakers on Monday announced a plan to publicly finance about $850 million of a new $1.4 billion stadium in Orchard Park for the Buffalo Bills.

The plan, which includes $600 million from the state and $250 million from Erie County, came out in the final days of state budget negotiations and rankled progressive advocates and left-leaning economists who view it as a poor use of taxpayer dollars at a time when the state is flush with cash from federal aid and there are competing interests for how to spend that money.

The deal would target opening the stadium in 2026 and keep the professional football team there for at least 30 years; if the team received court authorization to leave that location, it would have to pay back all of its public subsidy, according to the governor's office.

Further, the Bills are required to pay any cost overruns during construction, a provision that was not included in the development of other facilities in the state, including Yankees Stadium, which ran at least 30 percent over its budget.

The $850 million public subsidy would be the largest for any NFL facility on record, according to the Associated Press, but the state and Erie County would be paying a smaller share of the construction costs than other taxpayer-funded stadiums. The current facility, Highmark Stadium — which was previously known as Rich Stadium and Ralph Wilson Stadium — opened in 1973 and was buoyed by taxpayers footing nearly three-quarters of the construction costs.

 

Soccer stadium coming to Jamaica

  

Queens Chronicle

Professional soccer is coming to Queens — and York College in Jamaica — next spring.

City officials on Tuesday joined the owner of Queensboro FC to announce plans to build a 7,500-seat stadium on a plot of land just south of York’s Health and Physical Education building.

The stadium will be bounded by 160th Street to the west, Tuskegee Airmen Way to the south and Guy R. Brewer Boulevard to the east.

Queensboro FC is an expansion team in the United Soccer League and will begin play in 2022. In addition to QBFC games and practices, the facility will host York’s commencement ceremonies, CUNY Athletic Conference tournament play, and other events both free and ticketed.

“York College is honored to be the host site for Queensboro FC’s home stadium,” York President Berenecea Johnson Eanes said in a statement issued by CUNY and the club. “We believe their contributions as a community-led sporting organization will greatly advance our facilities, our campus experience, and our neighborhoods. This project will showcase the importance of private and public sectors coming together, and working together, to celebrate diversity and bridge communities.”

Jonathan Krane, the club owner, said it was an exciting day for the team.

“The announcement of our home stadium site at York College represents a bold new chapter for professional sports in New York City,” Krane said. “More importantly, we are proud to deliver our QBFC fans a dedicated soccer specific venue, built by and for the Queens community, bringing us all together to celebrate the beautiful game.”

QCA wants artists' housing, but Katz wants a soccer stadium

I went to the Queens Borough President’s office today to pitch affordable housing for artists. They’re building a soccer stadium.

— Kelly Olshan (@KellyOlshan) June 22, 2018

And there you have it.

And where will they build this?

From Curbed:

Development company Global Sports Ventures is making a play to woo Americans over to the traditional English game. They’re teaming up with the real estate firm JLL to build professional cricket stadiums in eight U.S. cities in the hopes of establishing the sport as a new professional league on par with the NFL or MLB. The stadium developments alone have an estimated cost of $2.4 billion.

The teams and cricket stadiums are likely to be located in California, Washington, DC., Georgia, Florida, Texas, Illinois, and New York or New Jersey—regions where cricket “already has an established following,” according to WXIA in Atlanta.

The league is set to launch in 2020—an ambitious timeline considering the build-out.

Council candidate calls for investigation of Katz

From the Queens Chronicle:

Queens Borough President Melinda Katz in her State of the Borough address Friday proposed the placement of a soccer and hockey arena at Willets Point, as well as a school, economic recreation center and a parking facility at the 62-acre site.

Katz, in her address, said, “… as we await the outcome of the lawsuit, let’s ponder additional options.”

“We should be unafraid we should think bigger, bolder and more comprehensively,” she later said. “We need to review positioning ourselves for success by thinking creatively about further options that address our changing borough’s needs — a new school, an eco-recreation center, more parking to accommodate simultaneous big events that we have there now, because all those big events that we have now are wreaking havoc on the soccer fields and grass in Flushing Meadows for parking.

“And to help pay for it, let's consider a soccer stadium, let's consider a hockey stadium” she said. “Just imagine if we, the World’s Borough, hosted the World Cup or the Stanley Cup.”

One opponent of the mall project quickly criticized the borough president’s proposal.

"Borough President Katz's push for yet another stadium in Willets Point on property that was essentially stolen from small businesses for the supposed use of creating a new affordable residential community — a plan that she herself negotiated in 2008 as the Land Use Chair on the City Council! — would be almost comical if it weren't so disturbing,” said Paul Graziano, an urban planning consultant, plaintiff in the lawsuit and City Council hopeful.

“Law enforcement officials should look very carefully at possible collusion between the Borough President's office and the developers in question, as this seems to be yet another attempt at grabbing our city's public property in order to further enrich a few very already wealthy individuals at our expense," Graziano, who is running as a primary opponent against Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) in September, continued.

Yet another stadium planned for Queens

From Bloomberg:

The New York Islanders are in talks with the owners of baseball’s New York Mets about building a hockey arena adjacent to Citi Field in Queens, people with knowledge of the discussions said.

Willets Point is emerging as a persuasive alternative to the team’s current home at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center if the Islanders’s owners and arena officials can’t agree on a series of hockey-specific improvements, said the people, who asked for anonymity because the negotiations are private.

The team’s first season at Barclays Center, which is owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, was marred by poor reviews from fans, who complained about obstructed view seats, and from players, who who said the quality of the ice was sub-par. The team’s owners also realized they couldn’t make as much money as their league counterparts, most of which play in bigger arenas.

The Islanders, who are owned by Value Retail Plc founder Scott Malkin and Jonathan Ledecky, and Sterling Equities, which owns the Mets, have been discussing a possible move to Queens for months, said the people.

What about those ramps? Affordable housing? Hmmm...

A soccer stadium for Sunnyside?

From LIC Talk:

A new article written in a soccer publication, makes a well-thought-out case that Sunnyside Yards could be the optimal location to build a stadium for the NYCFC. That would be the NYC Football Club for the bulk of us not familiar with the acronym, but don’t let this new professional soccer team’s relative obscurity make you relegate the stadium idea as a lark.

That is because, as the author points out, the team is majority-owned by Manchester City, a well-known (and as you’ll see, well-funded) and newly successful team in the English Premier League, and Manchester City is wholly owned by one Sheikh Mansour. Now as it turns out, the Sheikh is also on the board of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which a quick google shows has about three-quarters of a trillion $ in its coffers!$!

Not that there’s any shortage of capital looking to be put to work within spitting distance of midtown, but with that kind of heft, the ADIA may be willing to provide some very generous financing to make this struggling project more palatable. Plus the new stadium angle allows the Mayor to do a major rewrite on what’s turning out to be a very difficult sell. Add the fact that the NY Yankees are the minority owner of the team, and you have another powerful and connected gorilla in the room helping to push it through.

Now the above is just my handicapping the possibility of the stadium happening. I am still very much against the Sunnyside Yards project, and will continue to refer to it as the NYCBD, aka the NYC Big Dig. It will be good for the 5-10 thousand residents who score an affordable apartment, it will be great for the developers, and it will be bad for the 2.3 million other residents of Queens mainly due to the drastic effect of overcrowding at the margins.

Katz not yet sold on Aqueduct soccer stadium

From the Queens Chronicle:

Aqueduct soccer stadium bandwagon — at least not yet.

At Community Board 10 last Thursday in South Ozone Park, Katz said she “likes the idea” of a Major League Soccer stadium in Queens, but had “deep reservations” about siting it at Aqueduct, which she said is not easily accessible from other parts of the city.

“We have a 90 percent increase in subway ridership right there,” she said. “It takes a long time to get there, and during rush hour it’s worse. There’s infrastructure and access issues.”

Katz’s concerns echo those of many in the community who feel Aqueduct Race Track is not easily accessible by car or public transportation.

“I think it’s good for us, it’ll bring tourism in. I think there’s a response from folks here with a deep interest for that,” Katz said of a stadium in Queens, but noted that even from her own house in Forest Hills, getting to Aqueduct would be rough.

She did not offer any other potential sites. The stadium plan, which would be home to MLS expansion franchise New York City Football Club, was originally proposed for Flushing Meadows Corona Park, before being moved to the Bronx when the New York Yankees took a 20 percent share of the team. NYCFC begins playing at Yankee Stadium next year.

But a Bronx deal was not worked out, and Aqueduct was the next idea to be floated.

The end of Queens horse racing?

From the Queens Chronicle:

Several sources have confirmed that demolition of Aqueduct Race Track for a new soccer stadium is not off the table.
It was announced last month that Major League Soccer was looking at Aqueduct as a site for a soccer-specific stadium to host the New York City Football Club, an expansion team that will begin playing next year at Yankee Stadium.

“The discussions leave open the possibility of the racetrack being torn down and the stadium being built on that site,” one high-level source said. “[The New York Racing Association] would make Belmont Racetrack a year-round venue and hold winter racing there.”

The source did say, however, that is not the most likely or desired option, noting that the favored choice is to build the stadium on top of lightly used parking fields owned by the city on the southern end of the Aqueduct site, near the Belt Parkway.

But building a stadium even on the 20 acres of city property currently leased by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey would require going over some hurdles.

During a Uniform Land Use Review Procedure in 2004 dealing with PANYNJ property leased from the city in Queens, Community Boards 10 and 12 suggested forcing the plots of land at Aqueduct that includes those lots to go through ULURP in the event they are proposed to be used for anything other than parking.

The ULURP would require public hearings and approval from Borough President Melinda Katz, the City Planning Commission and the City Council.

Should something go awry with that option, the track proposal could emerge as a backup plan.

The track itself is on state-owned land, which would require state approval to both demolish the track and build the stadium.

Forest Hills Stadium experimenting with sound blankets

From DNA Info:

Organizers of a summer outdoor concert series at Forest Hills Stadium said they are experimenting with ways to reduce noise from future performances after receiving complaints from community members.

They have been testing sound blankets, typically used at airports and construction sites, on the fence surrounding the stadium, said Jon McMillan, one of the organizers. They were also considering placing them at the top of the venue.

McMillan said that the group is trying to figure out whether covering large portions the fence with sound blankets is feasible and how to include entrances to the stadium into their sound mitigation plan.

Soccer stadium may be built at Aqueduct instead

From Capital New York:

Developers behind a proposal to build the city’s first Major League Soccer arena are looking to develop land near the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, after plans to build near Yankee Stadium fell apart, sources told Capital.

Manchester City Football Club owner Sheik Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan and the New York Yankees, which are partnering in the joint venture for the New York City Football Club, are now looking at a possible site “adjacent to the aqueduct racetrack in Queens,” a source told Capital.

Sources told Capital the club is now looking to develop the site near the racetrack because there is an abundance of land primed for development.

The future of the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium

From the Times Ledger:

The Forest Hills Stadium’s revival as a concert venue has gotten rave and raw reviews alike from the surrounding community.

The West Side Tennis Club, which owns the stadium at 1 Tennis Place, invited neighbors to share feedback on last summer’s Mumford & Sons concert with the company hired to put on shows, Madison House Presents, as it finalizes this summer’s lineup.

Madison House Presents has booked Zac Brown Band, an Atlanta-based folk group, for June 21 and Modest Mouse and Brand New, two indie bands, for Aug. 9. The concert promoters aim to plan up to four more shows this summer.

Close to 70 people packed into Our Lady of Mercy Church Monday to share their thoughts. Complaints ran the gamut, from a “pop-up shop” hawking gear on front lawns to throngs of concert-goers clogging the path to subway stations.

But others spoke passionately about the need to preserve a structure built in 1923 to host the US Open and went on to welcome music giants such as Bob Dylan and Barbra Streisand. The city considered landmarking the structure, but decided restoring it would be too expensive.

Mike Luba, of Madison House Presents, said selling roughly 16,000 general admission tickets for the Mumford & Sons concert proved too many. Going forward, he said Madison House Presents would limit admission to roughly 13,000 for seated concerts and 14,000 for standing concerts. An assigned seating system will be used to discourage attendees from arriving early in pursuit of good spots.

Luba said neighbors would be given access to advanced ticket sales and deals.

He noted that a permanent stage would be arriving within weeks. Reinstalled seats, wider aisles and new handrails are also in the works.

“It was a good learning experience for us all,” Luba said of the Mumford & Sons concert. “It’s a little tricky getting a 100-year-old stadium back up and running.”

So it wasn't landmarked because LPC decided that restoring it was too expensive, but it's being restored now, so why not landmark it?

My favorite line of the piece, from Karen Koslowitz: “Mumford & Sons, this isn’t really my kind of music. I like Jay-Z. And my grandson just e-mailed me today that July 11 they’re going to be at the Giants’ stadium, so Jay-Z’s not coming here.”

Politicians simply love unnecessary stadiums

From the NY Post:

Queens Councilman Ruben Wills is going to bat for cricket.

Wills wants to create a task force to promote the sport — the bat-swinging cousin of baseball — and hopes to build a cricket stadium in his borough.

The councilman says cricket is a hit in the culturally diverse district he represents and believes it could give the entire city an economic boost.

“We have the largest and fastest-growing population of Indo-Caribbean and south Asian populations. Everywhere in the world cricket is the number two sport, only behind [soccer],” Wills told The Post.

“We want to make sure we can introduce this into mainstream New York and we also want to look at the end game of creating a cricket stadium in New York,” he added.

His bill, introduced Tuesday, would create a 10-member task force to study “health, social and economic impacts” of the sport in New York City.

The task force also would explore use of park land for more cricket fields in the city.

Taxpayers to bail out failed garages in order to build rent-free soccer stadium

From the Daily News:

The nearly bankrupt Yankee Stadium garage company could receive new taxpayer subsidies of more than $200 million if a financial bailout plan approved last month by the Bloomberg administration goes through, the Daily News has learned.

The Yankees and a billionaire Middle East sheik who is partnering with the team are proposing to pay an estimated $25 million for one of the garages currently owned by Bronx Parking Development Co. LLC — the independent firm that operates the stadium’s garage system. The Yankees partnership is proposing to demolish that garage on W. 153rd St. and build a new $350 million Major League Soccer stadium for its team, New York City FC.

But under the bailout plan approved Dec. 18 by Bronx Parking’s board of directors and the holders of its debt, the reorganized company would pay no rent until 2056 for more than 20 acres of city-owned land where its other stadium garages are located.

That’s right, no rent for the next 42 years!

There's more on the IBO blog. And this will all come down to what Melissa wants to do.

"Let's alienate parkland in the Bronx instead"

From the Daily News:

City officials are scampering to sign a deal by the end of this month for $300 million in tax-free bonds that would allow the Yankees and a royal from the United Arab Emirates to tear down one of the bankrupt Yankee Stadium garages and build a Major League Soccer stadium, two sources close to the talks have told the Daily News.

A draft of the agreement circulating among Economic Development Corp. staff would require Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio to decide within 30 days of his inauguration whether to approve the deal for the new soccer franchise, the New York City Football Club, the sources said.

Under the complex proposal, the new soccer team — a joint venture of the Yankees and Manchester City Football Club, a British team owned by Sheik Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan — would pay virtually no rent for 38 years for the largely city-owned land on which the proposed 28,000-seat soccer venue would sit.

The new franchise would also be permitted to divert the property taxes it would normally owe the city to pay off its bonds, the sources said — a deal similar to the one the Yankees and the Mets got for their new stadiums in 2005. The soccer club would be exempt from sales taxes or mortgage taxes.

The soccer venture would pay an estimated $25 million to bondholders of the bankrupt Bronx Parking Development firm for its E. 153rd St. garage, which sits on city-owned land. In addition, Yankees President Randy Levine is trying to buy out and relocate a nearby elevator equipment company, GAL Manufacturing Corp., which employs more than 350 workers.

Bill DeBlasio is not very enthusiastic about the stadium.