New York City Football Club is moving to change its home from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx to its own in Queens. It will be New York City’s first soccer stadium.
The City Planning Commission unanimously approved the Willets Point redevelopment on March 6.
The stadium, known as “The Cube,” is set to open in 2027. The project is known as the Willets Point redevelopment.
In a recent video of the stadium renderings, the stadium will have a modern and futuristic look. It will have an open roof with four massive screens in each corner.
The Cube will have efficient water systems below the field to capture rainwater and use it for irrigation.
The materials to be used for the fixtures and fittings will be sourced locally, avoiding the negative impact of bringing materials from far away.
NYCFC is building a relationship with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority so fans can attend games via public transportation.
The stadium is set to seat 25,000 fans. It will be located next to Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets, one of the two New York MLB teams.
There will be two phases to this project. Phase 1 will be the stadium project and Phase 2 will be the development of the surrounding area and its community.
NYCFC will build 2,500 housing units, which are set to be 100 percent affordable. It also will build a hotel that can host up to 250 people. The upcoming community will also have retail stores for residents and visitors.
For new residents with young kids, there will be an elementary school that holds up to 650 students. Also, the community will have over 112 thousand square feet of open space.
The project will create over 16,500 jobs in construction and operations.
The next step of this project is to be voted on by the City Council. It then must be approved by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who has already expressed his support for the upcoming project.
“Housing is the GOAL!” Adams tweeted on March 6. “The brand new, state of the art Cube isn’t just bringing @NYCFC to Queens. We’re transforming Willets Point with 2,500 new affordable homes — the city’s largest 100% affordable housing development in 40 years.”
NYCFC CEO Brad Smith told The Athletic that the organization wants to “differentiate” itself from other NYC sports stadiums.
“I think our grand entrance through the cube is going to be very different from any other kind of sense of arrival,” Smith said, when speaking to the stadium’s atmosphere. “When you’re at our stadium, you’re going to know you’re in New York City.”
