New York City Football Club stadium to be built in Queens for $780M
QUEENS, New York (WABC) -- The New York City Football Club will finally have a home stadium of its own after bringing the city its first professional championship in a decade.
Willets Point, an industrial section of Queens, is set to be transformed into a stadium for the club, so fans won't need to trek to Yankee Stadium to watch a match.
On Wednesday, Mayor Eric Adams announced the plans for the stadium, which would have 25,000 seats. It will also be the first significant major league sports venue built in the city since 2012.
City officials believe the new stadium will make New York City a national soccer capital, laying the groundwork for the next chapter in NYCFC and MLS' history.
Officials say the New York City Football Club is paying an estimated $780 million to build the stadium. The project will also include a 250-room hotel and 2,500 affordable homes.
The housing project will be the largest 100% affordable, new construction housing project in NYC in 40 years.
"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 - New York City's largest fully affordable housing project in decades. 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.'"
The project aims to breathe new life into the industrial part of the borough made up of Citi Field, this new soccer stadium, and the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, which hosts the U.S. Open.
While many are eager for the development, some decades-old businesses are being forced out by the city.
"They can force us to go but we're going to come back," said business owner Arturo Olaya.
"This was something that was already discussed in prior administrations during the De Blasio administration, they received over $6.5 million, I believe it was to relocate," said NYC Councilmember Francisco Moya.
Olaya said the businesses couldn't survive with just one year of rent for free from the city.
NYC owns the land and will lease it to the NYCFC. The stadium will be reportedly be finished in 2027.
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