New York City got its first official soccer team in 2013, but it took almost nine years for the New York City Football Club (NYCFC) F.C. (Football Club) to finally get its own home stadium!
Back in 2020, the New York Times had reported that the organization had almost reached a real estate deal to construct the soccer stadium in the South Bronx, right near Yankee Stadium. That deal didn’t work out, but the plan goes forth with some changes.
Through a new partnership with 2021 Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup champions New York City Football Club (NYCFC) and Queens Development Group (QDG) — a joint venture of Related Companies and Sterling Equities — Willets Point will be anchored by 2,500 new affordable homes, the largest 100-percent affordable, new construction housing project in New York City in 40 years, which will be constructed on an accelerated timeline in Willets Point, Queens.
The original deal included not only the 25,000-seat stadium, but also affordable housing options, a school, hotel and stores. The total (privately-financed) development project would have cost over $1 billion and would have been right down the road from where the NYC F.C. team currently plays at Yankee Stadium.
The project will still be privately funded and will also include over 40,000-square-feet of public open space, a hotel, and retail shops that will create new jobs for community residents.
The addition of the stadium will turn Willets Point into a sports hub–it will share a subway station with the New York Mets’ CitiField and the USTA’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
The new stadium has been a long time coming.
The team has been looking to find a more permanent headquarters pretty much since it was established in 2013. But year after year as it tried to propose construction in other areas of the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, and even right outside the city on Long Island, they ran into issue after issue. Those spearheading the project took a very community-driven approach.
The project will create 1,550 permanent jobs and 14,200 construction jobs, a new 650-seat standalone public school, and 2,500 affordable housing options–NYC’s largest 100% affordable new housing project in 40 years.
The new renderings contextualize the stadium’s five core design principles: “creating the best live fan experience in NYC, authentically representing our city, embedding the stadium into the community, building a “future forward” stadium, and modeling sustainability.”
“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a brand-new neighborhood, a Willets Point that offers real opportunity for working people and all New Yorkers,” said Mayor Eric Adams.
“Our plan will deliver 2,500 affordable homes…and with a fully privately financed soccer stadium, a hotel, and local retail, we will create not only homes but also quality jobs, $6 billion in economic activity, and a true pathway to the middle class. This is what it means to build a ‘City of Yes,’” added Adams.
If all goes according to plan, the soccer stadium could be looking at a completion date of 2027, following the highly anticipated 2026 FIFA World Cup™ that New York and New Jersey will help host.
