Construction is rising on Etihad Park, the home stadium for Major League Soccer’s New York City Football Club (NYCFC) at 126–87 Willets Point Boulevard in Willets Point, Queens. Designed by HOK, the 24,851-seat venue will stand as the centerpiece of a 23-acre redevelopment plan along with a new 650-seat public school, a hotel, and more than 150,000 square feet of public open space. The facility will also be the first fully electric stadium in New York City and in MLS history. The project site is bounded by 127th Street to the northeast, 35th Avenue to the northwest, Willets Point Boulevard to the southeast, and Seaver Way and Citi Field to the southwest.
The stadium’s superstructure has made significant progress since our last update in early September, when the first sections of steel were beginning to be erected along the western side of the property. The southwest corner has now topped out while the grandstands are quickly taking shape below, with the concrete lower seating bowl already complete.
Etihad Park. Photo by Michael Young.
Etihad Park. Photo by Michael Young.
Etihad Park. Photo by Michael Young.
Etihad Park. Photo by Michael Young.
Numerous excavators are working concurrently to the south at the site of a new residential building. Additional crews are laying steel rebar for the new set of sidewalks and the southern extension of Willets Point Boulevard. The remaining row of auto repair shops that line Seaver Way will eventually be razed to make way for more housing developments.
Etihad Park. Photo by Michael Young.
Etihad Park. Photo by Michael Young.
The renderings above and below showcase Etihad Park with partially covered stands and an open-air pitch. The southwestern corner will feature a beveled, LED-covered entryway along Seaver Way.
Etihad Park. Designed by HOK.
Etihad Park. Designed by HOK.
Etihad Park. Designed by HOK.
The stadium is planned to include 3,436 supporters section seats, 64 seats in pitch-side lounges, and 287 ADA-accessible and companion seats. The facility will also feature 14 bars, seven beer markets, 16 single-unit bathrooms, 18 women’s bathrooms, and 17 men’s bathrooms. Additional design components include eight pitchside lounges, 23 lower-level suites, nine upper-level suites, and two “Mini Clubs” on the upper level. The Lower Suite Level will also feature the Chairman’s Suite, located midfield with a private bar, bathrooms, and a phone booth.
The stadium’s name was set by a $20 million, 20-year naming rights agreement between Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, and NYCFC, which has partnered with the Middle Eastern airline brand since 2014. Etihad Airways is the front-of-shirt partner for NYCFC’s first team and boys academy, as well as a supporter of NYCFC’s community work through the club’s nonprofit foundation, City in the Community. The airline is also one of the primary partners of the New York City Soccer Initiative, a $3 million program launched in 2016 to create and maintain 50 mini-pitches across the city and expand free soccer programming for the next generation of New Yorkers.
The closest subway is the 7 train at the Mets-Willets Point station along Roosevelt Avenue to the south.
Etihad Park is expected to be built with 100 percent private financing and open before the 2027 MLS Season.
Subscribe to YIMBY’s daily e-mail
Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates
Like YIMBY on Facebook
Follow YIMBY’s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews
With all the private development & revenue generating occurring within the confines Flushing Meadows-Corona Park (Citifield, US Tennis Open, Etihad Park, Casino, Metropolitan Park, private residential and retail structures), there should already be a concerted effort to restore the remaining World’s Fair grounds and structure. These private entities are all extremely deep-pocketed, and being that they’ve been granted variances to build within NYC Park grounds, there’s NO reason why restoring the World’s Fair grounds shouldn’t already be DEEPLY funded. NYC/NYS completely dropped the ball on this cause.
Run the elevators to the top of the observation towers again!
As far as I know, the World’s Fair remnants are in good shape. The Unisphere was restored some years ago and the Queens Museum of Art seems in good shape. The yellow New York State Pavilion is currently being restored, however there is a question of what it can be used for. This is similar to the late United States Pavilion which lingered for years as it had to be good for something. This is now the site of the tennis stadium.
It would be nice to see the fountains running though some were taken out of service because of people wading into the recirculated water. The Unisphere fountains are running in a drained basin. The linear basins leading to the Fountain of the Planets were turned into mist fountains which could be entered. I do not know if the Fountain of the Planets, the most dramatic one in the park, used the water of Flushing Creek, an impure source.
Aside from the Unisphere and the Queens Museum (built as the New York City Pavilion for 1939 World’s Fair), the rest of the remaining structures are in a recent state of “stabilized”, as they were unsafe and (in part) in danger of collapse. These other structures are not in use and are not generally accessible to the public (They are fenced off). Well-intended stories abound about restoring these structures and the grounds to “good” condition, however the funding is typically minimal at best, and aimed at addressing/slowing further decay. In short, the World’s Fair structures, landscaping and fountains (those that remain) are very much NOT is good and stable condition.
Hey, how cum there’s one more Women’s bathrooms planned than Men’s ( 18 vs 17 ) ?
You’ve probably never been at an airport or other stadium before, so I understand your ignorance. If you had, you would have noticed that the women’s line is always much longer. If you’d been to a soccer game in NYC, you would also know that these are typically family affairs. Hope you’ll have a chance to check it out when it’s open, maybe ask your parents to take you!
You’re right, I’ve never studied the lines of people waiting to use the restrooms.
have you ever been in a public place and seen the line to the womens restroom?
At the Met Opera, the women’s line reminds me of a group pantomime of the Great Wall of China. At the sound of the first warning bell, it shrinks to half its size with the same number of people.
I believe the current suggested ratio is 3 fixtures for women to 1 male.
Getting back to the stadium, it is gratifying to see a stadium built at private expense. Too often, cities are blackmailed by teams, really entertainment companies, to pay up or they will leave.
I suspect this will prove very popular with the nearby Hispanic population. Fans in the Bronx will face a long subway ride.
The nearby housing has progressed rapidly and may be nearing completion. Groceries are supposed to move into the complex, but at the moment, it is rather isolated from shopping.
Tom Seaver would approve.
I hope Gotham FC, becomes co-tenant or at least play a few games there. Heck, fix Pier 40 in the W.Village & make that the BATS home Stadium.
Is Etihad Park designed for seating capacity expansion ? 25K works for now, but it seems quite meager, should this become a significant attraction and/or they desire to hold FIFA tournaments. They’ll never be able to host Opening or Final matches (80K seats), but the lowest tier FIFA events call for 40K. Then again – another tier wouldn’t likely take capacity to 40K.
What updates will be done for the highways, new exits or entrances??? Enlarge the roads ? What about the sewage systems and the entire infrastructure? There should be articles regarding that , it’s the most impactful discussion for the people who live in queens.
All for a kickball stadium?! why not just dodgeball which is funner