NYCFC Stadium beside Citi Field to Be Called Etihad Park After

NEW YORK CITY (AP) – New York City City FC ´ s $ 780 million, 25,000-seat location that it means to open next to the Mets ´ Citi Field in 2027 will be called Etihad Park under a 20-year agreement announced Thursday with Etihad Airways, the nationwide airline of the United Arab Emirates.

The Big league Soccer team ´ s managing owner is City Football Group, the of England ´ s Manchester City. The Premier League group ´ s place was relabelled Etihad Stadium in July 2011.

NYCFC president Brad Sims stated earnings from the offer will go to the MLS group and not the moms and dad company or English club, which is under examination by the Premier League for alleged violations of play guidelines.

Etihad has been NYC’s shirt sponsor because 2014 and Manchester City’s considering that 2009-10, a season after the Abu Dhabi United Group took control.

“It ´ s a 100% New York City FC offer,” Sims stated. “Etihad Airways has been essentially our best, our principal and founding partner considering that Day 1 at the club here. … We wanted to preferably stick with somebody who is an existing partner of New York City FC and or someone in the City Football Group household however Etihad was quickly type of the No. 1 focus that we have actually had all along.”

Etihad also has actually worked together with NYCFC on community initiatives.

“They ´ ve been interested for rather a long time about this arena in New york city and really purchasing into, I think, the path of travel of the sport in this country, in the New york city market particularly,” Sims stated. “For them the New york city market, the New york city City market is a very tactical business market.”

Since taking the field in 2015, NYCFC has played home video games mostly at Yankee Stadium, home of the Big league Baseball team that is a minority investor in NYCFC. But due to the fact that of schedule disputes, NYC has actually played some home matches at Citi Field, the home of the rival New York Red Bulls in Harrison, New Jersey, and Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.

Saturday’s Eastern Conference semifinal versus the rival New York Red Bulls will be at Citi Field since Notre Dame is playing Army in a college football video game at Yankee Stadium.

NYCFC announced the website in 2022. The New York City Council authorized the soccer arena in April as part of a Willets Point redevelopment that includes 2,500 housing systems, a new public school, hotel and retailers. Bulldozers and cranes are involved in pre-construction, lease settlements with New york city City are advancing and a groundbreaking is likely before completion of the year, according to Sims.

Mets owner Steve Cohen is amongst the bidders for a license to develop a gambling establishment in an area nearby to Citi Field.

“The more activity that can happen in advancement in Willets Point and make it a live-work-and-play neighborhood the better,” Sims stated.

Sims stated when NYCFC is home initially in a day, there has to be a six-hour buffer before a Mets game can start. When the Mets are home initially, there needs to be a seven-hour buffer before soccer can begin.

Similar parameters exist with the U.S. Tennis Association for the U.S. Open.

Sims said the brand-new arena will benefit NYCFC if MLS changes to an August-to-May schedule, lining up with many European soccer leagues, from its current February-to-December calendar.

“There ´ s a great deal of pros to doing that. The cons primarily live in cold-weather cities that have outdoor stadiums,” Sims said. “I believe for us with the new arena we would likely be reasonably insulated, a minimum of in the early – at least in the first 5-, 10-plus years simply with sort of excitement around the stadium.”

MLS season ticket holders will have top priority access to hospitality tickets for the 2026 World Cup.

“All MLS season members, season ticket holders, corporate partners and such will have will have a kind of presale access, these opportunities ahead of the market to buy suites, club seats, hospitality-type products at all games in all markets throughout the 2026 World Cup,” Sims stated. “That ´ s something that I believe is a fantastic benefit to our season ticket members and to our sponsors and corporate partners. … We remain in the market actively marketing 2025 City memberships which’s going to be another benefit of that.”

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