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Standing inside the construction site of New York City FC’s new home, Etihad Park, as it’s coming together next door to Citi Field in Queens, it’s hard to forget that you’re in the Big Apple.
From the supporters porch, fans will see the New York City skyline in the distance; the “City Square” will feature a food hall with local vendors from the five boroughs, and the venue will feature plenty of other “visual reminders that this is New York,” NYCFC chief operating officer Jennifer O’Sullivan said.
Considering the nomadic life that NYCFC has had since its inception more than a decade ago, O’Sullivan explained that keeping that New York City flair was intentional.
“It’s been so important to us because for 12 long years, we’ve been looking for our own home,” O’Sullivan said following a media tour of the construction site Saturday ahead of NYCFC’s 1-1 draw against LAFC at Citi Field. “We want people to know exactly where they are when they come into this building, and so making it representative of this community and this city was really important to us. And I hope that when everyone comes through here, they feel like we succeeded in doing that.”
Construction on Etihad Park is expected to be completed next spring, and the club is planning to host several test events before playing its first game in its new home July 17, 2027.
While work on the new building is still ongoing, NYCFC officials touted the vision that was coming together on Seaver Way.
A number of seats had already been installed in various parts of the lower and upper bowls, work on the “cube” — a seven-story LED-lined entrance that is expected to welcome 65 to 70 percent of fans coming to the stadium — has been ongoing, and the grass pitch has already been installed and is expected to be completed before the cold winter temperatures arrive.
However, a new stadium comes with affordability concerns, as fans across the sporting world have seen ticket prices increase.
Tickets have gone on sale for the premium hospitality areas, but general admission tickets are not yet available.
O’Sullivan said that the “goal” of the club is to “make sure that there is an affordable price point for everybody.”
The NYCFC COO boasted that the club has focused attention on the general admission areas of the stadium in order to provide fans “value” when they come to Etihad Park, noting the food quality will match that of the more exclusive areas of the stadium.
“Everybody deserves to have a really unique and valuable fan experience, and so that’s something that’s really important to us, and making sure that that price point for those fans is something that they can afford — that it’s something that also they feel the value that they’re getting for their money,” she said.
O’Sullivan did address concerns related to the Premier League financial scandal involving NYCFC sister club Manchester City potentially impacting the MLS club, saying there were “no concerns in New York.”
While the club showed off its bright future, its present is less than gleaming. New York City FC’s season has gone into a tailspin since August during a stretch in which the club has just one regular-season win in its last 12 matches.
Even more concerning, NYCFC has not won a match in MLS when they’ve conceded the first goal this season. Saturday was no different as the club gave up the first goal to LAFC, but it managed a draw after an early second-half goal stripped Los Angeles of its lead.
Still, NYCFC has played uninspired soccer during a stretch where they have struggled to take advantage of scoring opportunities that could have changed the course of matches.
“Somehow that is something that comes back to us all the time,” NYCFC head coach Pascal Jansen said. “So if you don’t reward yourself enough in these games, it stays a very tight game, and every mistake you make in the final phase of the game has cost us dearly.”