New York City Football Club, otherwise known as NYCFC, is New York’s first official soccer team. While their home stadium is Citi Field, a field that is typically the home of Major League Baseball’s New York Mets, the team has been switching from playing at various stadiums across the city and in New Jersey. Their home stadium is Citi Field, a field that is typically the home of Major League Baseball’s New York Mets. Every week during the soccer season, the baseball stadium spends three days transforming the grass and covering the plates and pitches with sod, leaving an awkwardly arranged soccer pitch located in a stadium intended for another sport.
However, as of an announcement made in November 2022, NYCFC will officially get its own soccer stadium just across the street from Citi Field in Willets Point, Queens.
The main focus of this construction project is the 25,000-seat, fully electric stadium planned to open in 2027 with a 780-million dollar budget financed by Sheik Mansour bin Zayed, the same financier for England’s Manchester City Football Club, UEFA coefficient standings top ranked club as of 2023. Per the hefty budget, the main entrance to the structure will include a huge, three-sided cubed TV screen that surrounds all sides of the entrance, creating a modern and futuristic home for the team.
Transportation to the stadium will be accessible for drivers via a deal made with Citi Field, which allows NYCFC drivers to use their parking lot. In terms of supporters coming using public transport, the LIRR, 7-line subway, or Q8 bus are available.
The fan section of a typical NYCFC game is not known to be large itself, however since the club’s establishment in 2015, there has been a large number of dedicated supporters for the better part of a decade. With four official NYCFC fan bars in Manhattan alone, over four hundred thousand entries on the NYCFC online forum, and many fan accounts across various social medias, it’s clear that New York City’s soccer club holds a special place in many supporters’ hearts.
Colombia Secondary School student Shane M, ‘25, a loyal fan, said,: “It feels good knowing that I’m supporting a local team, because there is an actual connection to NYCFC since it represents my home city. The great thing about it is that everyone belongs no matter their background, race, sex, and is united through their love for NYCFC.”
The defining feature of the new stadium is that it is set to run entirely on its own. The stadium is going to have solar panels installed on the roof of the structure, as well as an automatic hyaluronic water harvesting system. This water harvesting system will take in rainwater through the soil of the pitch and irrigate it back to the grass in order to keep it in the best condition for players.
These plans for climate-friendly infrastructure in the stadium assist in completing the club’s goal of having zero carbon emissions by 2040, including a deadline that will be met halfway through this endeavor.
As environmentally effective as the stadium will be, there is still a significant amount of backlash from Queens residents that live near the project. There was a protest in early August 2022 at the stadium construction site over the project.
Bertha Lewis, founder and president of The Black Institute (TBI), CEO and Chief Organizer of the previously disbanded nonprofit social justice organization ACORN, and NYC activist, joined with Nos Quedamos Queens and former Councilman and state Sen. Hiram Monserrate to lead the protest.
The protesters believed that using the land available for a stadium was wasteful when it could be used for housing, a mall, small businesses, or other spaces that could offer more to the community. Ultimately, activists believed that the project was a waste of time and money, and that there are more urgent things the city should be prioritizing in terms of housing and other residential necessities.
However, along with the announcement of the stadium in 2022, there was another promise to begin construction of 1,100 units of affordable housing, a 650-seat school, a variety of retail shops, a 250-key hotel, and over 40,000 square feet of urban space for the Queens community to occupy. These greater plans are going to be executed, but are planned to occur after the stadium is fully built.
The frustration from Queens residents comes from the fact that back in 2007 there was a different promise for 5,500 affordable housing units. That number has since been reduced to 1,100. Bertha Lewis told a reporter at the Queens Chronicle, “It’s an insult. It’s ridiculous.” She added, “1,100 units. And, oh, we’re supposed to be happy with that? It’s the same story.”
Along with this, many activists believe that the last thing the city needs is a stadium. Activists argue that building a stadium should not be a priority and will not be good for small businesses economically or socially. Shekar Krishnan, representative of the district next to the construction site, called the plan a “bad deal” for this reason. “We are not facing a stadium crisis in this city,” he said in an interview with a reporter at The New York Times. “We are facing a housing crisis, an inequality crisis and a climate crisis. Now we’re looking at a proposal that gives away public land worth hundreds of millions of dollars in public financing for a commercial soccer stadium. What is the benefit for the people of New York City?”
Despite its controversial nature, the construction of the first soccer stadium in New York City’s history is a groundbreaking feat nonetheless. The New York Red Bulls, local rivals to NYCFC, have their own home stadium located in Harrison, New Jersey. This makes the new construction in Queens only more special for it will be the only soccer-specific stadium with the possibility to be built in the city.
The urban space construction occurring after the stadium also has the potential to create momentum for the city in terms of building more public spaces; as much as the historic parts of New York are the heart and soul of the city, it is also important to change the geography of an area every so often in order to improve the natives’ way of life, local economy, and occupational status.
It’s also possible this project will begin a chain of advancements not only to the Queens area but to other boroughs as well, such as Brooklyn or the Bronx. There are a multitude of neighborhoods across the city that are in need of a revamp; not necessarily for a whole stadium, but perhaps for structures like a new reflux of shops, a school, a hotel, new and modern residential buildings, or other communal structures.
The priorities and opinions of New York City residents vary regarding this construction project, but one thing is for certain: regardless of the opposition to the new stadium, the loyal, supportive group of NYCFC fans are ecstatic to come together in order to find comfort and pride in the new home turf that their beloved team will play on.
In the current season as of November 2024, NYCFC is flying. On Saturday November 6th, 2024, the team played in the final game of Round One of the MLS Cup Playoffs – the top flight United States and Canada professional soccer league – against FC Cincinnati. They won off penalties 6 to 5 after an extraneous, goalless game.
The squad is now off to the Semi Finals against their local rivals, New York Red Bulls, which will take place at Citi Field on November 23rd, 2024 at 5:30 p.m.
NYCFC is ranked fourth out of six as the underdog team most likely to raise the MLS Cup at the end of the season according to the MLS league website. If the club is able to win the final on December 7th, 2024, which would be the second ever championship win in the club’s history, the team would not only bring pride to the fans, but prove to skeptical New Yorkers that their new home is well-deserved.
“It feels good knowing that I’m supporting a local team, because there is an actual connection to NYCFC since it represents my home city. The great thing about it is that everyone belongs no matter their background, race, sex, and is united through their love for NYCFC.”