Westchester Soccer Club gets a permanent home in Mount Vernon
MOUNT VERNON, Westchester County (WABC) -- Westchester's first professional sports team, the Westchester Soccer Club, is getting a new permanent home!
Starting in 2025, Memorial Field in Mount Vernon will serve as the team's home stadium.
Westchester Soccer Club representatives joined Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard Tuesday for the announcement, and they're hoping to draw on the area's diversity.
"We have a very large Caribbean community. Soccer! We have a huge Brazilian community. Soccer! A big Portuguese community. Soccer! A big Mexican community. Soccer!" Mayor Patterson-Howard said.
Westchester Soccer Club will play in the United Soccer League 1, the third tier of American professional soccer.
The team's owner who hails from Rye says Memorial Field's facilities and location made it the perfect fit.
"We do want to attract from New York City but that's not the goal, per se. We think we can attract and fill this stadium with people from Westchester, Rockland from Bergen, from lower Fairfield County," said owner Mitch Baruchowitz.
For Mount Vernon, this is more than just a source of pride, it's a revenue stream: money that will help maintain the city's crown jewel.
In 2022, Memorial Field reopened after a $40 million overhaul.
For years, the stands were in ruins and illegally dumped toxic waste contaminated the soil. Now it is home to a professional team.
"We're excited not just about the professional games, but the community reinvestment and the developmental programs we know that we know will come for our young people as a part of this partnership," Patterson-Howard said.
The team will launch a soccer academy, a pipeline to transform today's budding talent into tomorrow's college and pro stars.
"The growth of soccer and I think of the last 10 to 12 years has obviously increased and then with the World Cup coming here in 2026, it's just going to be a great sport to be involved in," said soccer academy director Simon Baines.
ALSO READ: Farmer in the Deli offers viral chopped sandwiches
----------
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
