Council OKs NYCFC Queens soccer stadium, Willets Point neighborhood transformation
New York City is getting its first-ever standalone soccer stadium.
The City Council voted 47-1 on Thursday to approve a new 25,000-seat home for New York City FC across from Citi Field in Willets Point, Queens, along with 1,400 affordable homes, a hotel and more as part of a larger plan to transform the area in the coming years.
The $800 million all-electric stadium will be union-built and is projected to open in time for the 2027 Major League Soccer season. It will eventually anchor a new neighborhood with thousands of affordable apartments.
“This is just a rich moment of history,” Mayor Adams said at a celebratory rally following the vote. “Just think about how people said it was not possible. Everyone tried before. Willets Point has been an eyesore for so many years … We scored a major goal for New York City.”
Thursday’s final vote was the culmination of years of planning both to secure NYCFC a permanent home and redevelop the blighted Willets Point corner of Queens.
Specifically, the Council passed the second of two rezonings spearheaded by NYCFC, the city’s Economic Development Corporation and Queens Development Group, an umbrella organization for real estate giants Related Companies and Sterling Equities.
It’s part of a bigger plan already underway to build a new neighborhood at Willets Points. Aside from the stadium, there will be 2,500 affordable apartments, a 650-seat public school, a 250-room hotel, open space, shops, new streets and new sewers — over 3 million square feet of total development expected to generate $6.1 billion in economic impact over three decades.
The scheme represents New York’s largest 100% affordable housing project in over 40 years. The city broke ground on the school and 1,100 units in December, with 880 of those expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
Known locally as the “Iron Triangle” or the “Valley of Ashes” — famously coined by F. Scott Fitzgerald in “The Great Gatsby” — Willets Point has historically been home to a cluster of autobody shops. Some 23 acres have already undergone extensive environmental remediation to address decades of contamination.
Local Councilmember Francisco Moya has been the plan’s staunchest supporter in government and was visibly emotional during the Council vote, dedicating the moment to his late father.
“We’ve watched failed plan after failed plan at Willets Point. Three administrations tried and failed it,” Moya said at the celebration rally held in City Hall Park. “[This is] one of the most proudest moments of my life, not just as a legislator but just as a New Yorker.”
The crowd was packed with union members and NYCFC supports who cheered beneath cherry blossoms and spring drizzle.
One of those was Felix Paláo, 48, a graphic designer from Allerton in the Bronx and a season ticket holder.
“It’s a wonderful feeling because we finally have a home and we’ll finally have a place to plant our flag at,” he said of the news. “It’s going to revitalize a part of Queens that needs exactly that. And I think the whole plan is just going to be a beautiful thing.”
Exactly when the entire Willets Point redevelopment will be completed is unclear.
“I do not know the timeline,” City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said at a press conference before the vote. “At this point, we are still working with the Council member, with the developers on all of this, so I don’t have a timeline for you.”
With Chris Sommerfeldt
