Mayor Eric Adams is expected to announce soon that he has approved the building of a 25,000 seat soccer stadium near Citi Field that will be home to the New York City Football Club, sources close to the situation said.
Even with the Mayor’s blessing the stadium would still need to be approved through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) which is not a given, sources said.
A new stadium for the reigning MLS Cup Champions could be built by 2025, a source said.
Still, NYCFC has been nomadic playing home games this season at Yankee Stadium, Citi Field and Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.
So the prospect of a permanent home would be seen as good news.
It likely also would be built in time for the 2026 World Cup which is being held in New York City and New Jersey.
Media reports a few months ago said a new stadium would most likely be built in the Bronx, but that is no longer the case, sources said.
It is not clear yet who would pay for the stadium, but sources said it would be privately funded. And it would be built on land leased by former Mets owners Sterling Equities and Related Companies, sources said.
This is part of the 61-acre Special Willets Point District, bordered by 126th Street, Roosevelt Avenue, Northern Boulevard and the Van Wyck Expressway.
Presently, Citi Field and the Arthur Ashe Tennis Stadium are in the Flushing-Meadows Park area. Soon, a soccer stadium and possibly, if Steve Cohen gets his way, a full-scale casino could be added.
There have also been commitments to affordable housing and a public school in Willets Point which will likely be raised in the ULURP process.
