Topline
New York City Football Club will eventually have its own venue to call home after the New York City Council approved a Queens-based development project that will provide the soccer team with a 25,000-seat soccer stadium.
Yankee Stadium is one of the stadiums NYCFC has played its home games in.(Photo by Ira L. Black – … [+]
Key Facts
The $780 million stadium is slated to open in 2027, according to the Associated Press, 12 years after NYCFC played its first game in Major League Soccer.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams will have five days to approve or veto the decision, though a veto seems unlikely given Adams’ public support of the stadium.
NYCFC, which was the 20th MLS expansion team, has played home games at Yankee Stadium or Citi Field since joining the league.
The new stadium will be located in Queens next to Citi Field, the home of the Mets.
The development project that includes the stadium will also bring affordable housing, a 250-room hotel, retail facilities and 2.8 acres of publicly accessible open space to Willets Point, a neighborhood within Queens known for its automobile shops and junkyards.
Forbes Valuation
We estimate NYCFC’s value at $850 million, making it the fifth-highest valued team in MLS.
Big Number
$6 billion. That’s how much economic impact the development project will bring to New York City, according to a statement from Adams.
Key Background
City officials including Adams have said the stadium will be completely privately financed. The financiers are NYCFC’s owners, which include the Yankees and United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Associated Press reported. The Sheikh also owns English Premier League soccer team Manchester City, which Forbes valued at $4.99 billion last year. However, claims the stadium won’t take any money from taxpayers has been met with skepticism. An independent budget analysis from last year found taxpayers will pay at least $516 million throughout NYCFC’s 49-year lease, the New York Times reported.
Further Reading
New York officials approve $780M soccer stadium for NYCFC to be built next to Mets’ home (AP)
Will New York City’s Soccer Stadium Cost Taxpayers $0 or $516 Million? (NYT)
