3 Reasons NYCFC’s New Stadium Plans Are Most Important In MLS History

After the 2022 MLS Cup final posted objectively strong TV ratings early this month, I pointed out in this space that the numbers could be interpreted in a second, less favorable way.

A final involving a Los Angeles-based team performed far better with viewers both locally and nationally than a final the year before with a New York-based team in a similar time slot. And it was a reflection of a persisting obstacle for MLS: Establishing an authentic presence in the nation’s largest city, which is sports-mad but also holds high standards that are considerably different from those in Los Angeles.

But this week’s news that NYCFC has a plan in place with the city government to build a new, permanent, 25,000-seat home in Queens could change all that. And as such, the new project could be the most important stadium build in the league’s history.

Here are three reasons why:

1) The Biggest Step to NYCFC’s Own Identity

New York is an enormous, sports-mad city. But there’s a thing about the great New York sports teams and their brands: They all have their own identity that is very clearly and uniquely tied to the city.

From that perspective, both New York teams (NYCFC and the New York Red Bulls) have always had an extra obstacle to clear with fans who are wary of the fact that both clubs occupy lower-tier status in their respective football families, NYCFC with City Football Group and RBNY within the Red Bull sports family.

A stadium of their own — expected to open in 2027 — won’t entirely separate NYCFC from their parent family, but it will allow the club to build far more of its own identity within it. And that’s a particularly big step forward when you consider the club has spent most of its MLS life playing as the second tenant in the home of the most globally recognized sporting brand in the Big Apple, the New York Yankees.

2) A Clear (And Better) Line Of Demarcation

Clearly, NYCFC willl be the biggest benefactors of a new stadium, but their intracity rivals could also stand to gain.

City’s move to Queens will make their games more consistently accessible for fans not only based in Queens and Brooklyn, but also on Long Island. More importantly, the lengthy trip on the seven train might entice fans with no prior allegiance in Manhattan to make what is actually a shorter journey (depending where you live on the island) on the PATH train to Red Bull Arena. It’s sadly misunderstood by many New Yorkers who close RBA is via transit, even though it’s not technically in the city.

Additionally, a 25,000-seat capacity stadium will create ticket demand for City games that didn’t exist in more cavernous baseball stadiums. If you create scarcity and an environment where prices could increase, that’s an opportunity for the Red Bulls front office to exploit as well.

Even with City’s nomadic nature of late, they have been the better supported NYC team in recent years. That won’t necessarily change. But the Red Bulls should look at City’s move as a chance to pull themselves closer to even.

3) Overwhelming International Showcase Appeal

When the Willets Park stadium does open, it will immediately become the most appealing soccer specific stadium in the nation in terms of holding international competitions and friendlies.

Not only will the stadium have the cachet of a location inside city limits of one of the biggest media markets on the planet, it will also feature ideal logistics for foreign travelers a mere two miles from La Guardia Airport. That’s even closer than the relatively convenient five-plus miles between Newark International Airport and Red Bull Arena.

Major League Soccer and its teams face no shortage of international teams willing to collaborate on events, particularly in the summer European preseason. But the Willets Point project can’t possibly do anything but help on that front.