New York City FC CEO Brad Sims shares plans, construction timeline for new stadium
MLS club New York City FC revealed "The Cube" on Wednesday, a state-of-the-art, all-LED main entryway to their new stadium set to open in 2027. It far from the only thing New York soccer fans will have to look forward to at the new stadium.
In an exclusive interview with USA TODAY, NYCFC CEO Brad Sims shared more details about the stadium, including its amenities, features and a timeline of its construction ahead of the 2027 opening.
The stadium, which will open across the street from the New York Mets' Citi Field in Queens, is part of a larger "Willets Point Project" that aims to redevelop the surrounding area into a new neighborhood. In addition to the stadium, the project will add 2,500 affordable housing units, a 250-key hotel, 650-seat elementary school, a new retail area with shops and restaurants, and "ample open space for public use," according to their website.
Here are all of the latest details on NYCFC's planned new stadium.
The Cube:New York City FC announces its massive, seven-story main entryway planned for new stadium
The Cube is just one of the new stadium's big features
The idea behind The Cube entrance, Sims says, was to give the club's new stadium a unique aesthetic that differed from other stadiums in the MLS and in American sports in general. New York City FC believes that a seven-story tall main entry lined with over 11,000 square feet of LEDs will certainly stand out.
"People are going to get off the subway, park their cars, and immediately, from hundreds and hundreds of yards away, it’s a 'Wow' moment," he said. "We think it sets the tone for the fans as they come into the building."
Once fans walk through the immersive entryway, they will enter the main dining space in the stadium, an area the club has internally dubbed "the Five Boroughs Food Hall." It's planned to be nearly 40,000 square feet in total and will feature local food vendors from each of New York City's five boroughs – Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Staten Island.
As each season progresses, different local food vendors will rotate in and out to provide new experiences for fans throughout the year.
Sims says it's a feature that will give fans a reason to come to games early to dine at the stadium. It's also another unique amenity that stands out from the generic stadium food (hot dogs, burgers, chicken fingers) that can be found at any other American sports venue.
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NYCFC's new stadium will be among country's most sustainable sports venues
In addition to its unique amenities, NYCFC is committing to sustainability when building their new stadium, another thing Sims pointed to as a differentiator from other stadiums.
"We’ll be the first 100%, all-electric soccer stadium in the U.S.," he said.
The MLS club's new stadium will join Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle (home of the Kraken of the NHL) and Intuit Dome in Los Angeles (future home of the NBA's Clippers) as one of the country's first all-electric sports venues.
It will also be the first 100% electric outdoor stadium, soccer stadium and greater New York area stadium.
The new field will feature other sustainability elements as well, such as an ability to collect and recycle rainwater and on-site composting, "with the goal, ultimately, to have a net zero carbon footprint by 2040," Sims said.
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New York City FC new stadium timeline
Sims was able to provide a general timeline for the construction at Willets Point in Queens, though a part of it depends on how quickly the plan will advance through the political process.
On Wednesday, it received unanimous support from the New York City Planning Commission, which was the third step of that process following approval from the local community board in Queens and from the borough's president. The plan still has to go before the New York City Council and get approval from the mayor before construction can begin.
Sims couldn't provide an exact date for the start of construction given the political process that remains, but he expects that it can begin as early as four months after that reaches a conclusion. For now, the target is "late summer/early fall, maybe late August/September."
"From there, it’s about a 30-month build, so we’re still fully on target to be able to start the beginning of the ’27 MLS season," Sims said.
The stadium won't be called "Naming Rights Sponsor Stadium"
Fans on social media were amused by the inclusion of the placeholder name on the team's new stadium rendering released Wednesday, but Sims made it clear that that will eventually change.
"That would be something, wouldn't it?" he said in response to the idea of keeping the "Naming Rights Sponsor" moniker.
Ultimately, Sims said, the idea behind sponsorships for stadium naming rights and other entitlements will help his club and others around the league bring in additional revenue to improve the product on the field.
"Over time, the way to get bigger and bigger is to bring more and more top players to this league, and the way to do that is to generate more revenue, whether that’s New York City FC or all teams in the league collectively," he said.
"We’re able to re-invest that in the players and the cycle keeps going in a positive way: you get better players, attract more fans and attract more sponsors, increasing broadcast arrangements and things like that. And then you’re able to reinvest that."
For NYCFC, having a stadium the club can call its own is a major step in maximizing revenue opportunities and providing the best possible experience for its fans.
