Stadium Discussion

[ZYanksRule]

do I usually push conspiracy theories on this forum? But when i smell some things off, i speak up. You really think this article coming out the same hour as the CCL announcement is pure coincidence? If so I have a soccer stadium to sell you.

That doesn't make the article wrong. It could still fall apart, but based on this article plus previous reporting from the Outfield, we are as close as we've ever been. The NY Times says final approval will take months, so it'll be a while before we get team confirmation. But we are closer than we've ever been.

 

[ZYanksRule]

do I usually push conspiracy theories on this forum? But when i smell some things off, i speak up. You really think this article coming out the same hour as the CCL announcement is pure coincidence? If so I have a soccer stadium to sell you.

Also, the NY Times doesn't plant a story they've been working on for a while (seriously, this thing took weeks of reporting, I'd bet) just because the team calls and asks them to. That's not how journalism works. I could get behind the opinion that the team waited to announce RBA today because they knew this article was happening (the Times asked them for comment, and would have told them they're publishing on XX date, so please have your comment to us by then), but the idea that the article is wrong, or that it's been planted by NYCFC is ridiculous. They might have timed the RBA news, but not this.

 

[adam]

That doesn't make the article wrong. It could still fall apart, but based on this article plus previous reporting from the Outfield, we are as close as we've ever been. The NY Times says final approval will take months, so it'll be a while before we get team confirmation. But we are closer than we've ever been.

i never said it was wrong. I just think the method is bullshit that it was released now for a few reasons;

1. Why wait so long if it’s not finalized? Why never confirm past sights that were not finalized? Why today?
2. Sims just gave a huge speech about not announcing things till contracts are signed to avoid the backlash of CCL in NJ last night. Then the very next day they put their name on something not signed yet???
3. Boom! right after a PR disaster this comes out.

it’s still not a done deal. We didn’t learn anything more than what was in the outfield article. It’s probably getting done. But I’m still too pissed about all the other shit to fall for their 3 card monty routine today.

 

[Kjbert]

No doubt they saved the RBA news for today knowing the article was coming out

 

[ManhattanValley]

do I usually push conspiracy theories on this forum? But when i smell some things off, i speak up. You really think this article coming out the same hour as the CCL announcement is pure coincidence? If so I have a soccer stadium to sell you.

Well you posted some totally unverified stuff about why Reyna left and the cost of playing at MCU based on some anonymous dude from FB, so.....I guess so?

 

[ZYanksRule]

i never said it was wrong. I just think the method is bullshit that it was released now for a few reasons;

1. Why wait so long if it’s not finalized? Why never confirm past sights that were not finalized? Why today?
2. Sims just gave a huge speech about not announcing things till contracts are signed to avoid the backlash of CCL in NJ last night. Then the very next day they put their name on something not signed yet???
3. Boom! right after a PR disaster this comes out.

it’s still not a done deal. We didn’t learn anything more than what was in the outfield article. It’s probably getting done. But I’m still too pissed about all the other shit to fall for their 3 card monty routine today.

The team didn't put their name on this. They have a quote with barely any information. Randy Levine is not the team, he's not involved in the least with NYCFC operations and wouldn't have cleared his comments with them. The team didn't authorize this article or anything. The Times has an important piece of news, they're going to report it.

And the news, frankly, is that the agreement has been reached for the land and the city and state governments are on board. Final agreements need to happen, but it certainly seems like we're on the 5-yard line at this point.

 

[adam]

Well you posted some totally unverified stuff about why Reyna left and the cost of playing at MCU based on some anonymous dude from FB, so.....I guess so?

reyna and dome leaving is my conspiracy theory. (Though i have an inside source that leads me in that direction so I’m not just sitting in a basement thinking it up).

im pretty sure i had A disclaimer about rando from internet w MCU.

Great memory BTW.

 

[moogoo]

Great news. Sure it could be better (ie official deal is done announcement) but this is still good news. I don't care about the timing. It is what it is at this point. I'm here to support the team.

I don't think a 2024 completion seems likely. I would guess 2025 season if all things go smoothly from here on out.

 

[The Toe]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1225842312539967489

 

[adam]

The team didn't put their name on this. They have a quote with barely any information. Randy Levine is not the team, he's not involved in the least with NYCFC operations and wouldn't have cleared his comments with them. The team didn't authorize this article or anything. The Times has an important piece of news, they're going to report it.

And the news, frankly, is that the agreement has been reached for the land and the city and state governments are on board. Final agreements need to happen, but it certainly seems like we're on the 5-yard line at this point.

i think we’re going in circles at this point.

What we agree on: facts in article are real. A stadium is very close.

what we don’t agree on: the times released this today independent of NYCFCs input or say in the timing. We’ll never prove it either way. So let’s agree to disagree on this one.

 

[Vallos]

Here are my favorite parts:

"The group of developers, which includes Jorge Madruga’s Maddd Equities, says the project has the support of Mayor Bill de Blasio and James Patchett, the president of the city’s Economic Development Corporation. The E.D.C. said in a statement that it sees value in the proposal but cautioned that no formal agreement has been finalized."

"Final approval for the project, including public hearings and an application for rezoning the site and decommissioning the affected roadways, will require several months. But the developers said they were confident they would not face the kind of community and governmental opposition that scuttled previous proposals "

"A similar proposal for the site in 2018 collapsed, but this time the team and the developers are working closely with city and state officials, and expressed confidence that they would gain full approval. That confidence is largely based on the affordable housing component and the fact that the factory will be moved to another site in the Bronx and continue to employ its workers. "

I am convinced this is it and we are getting our stadium within 3-4 years. They are putting all their eggs in this basket so they are going full tilt.

 

[SoupInNYC]

Key takeaways for me:

"Construction would not begin until at least 2022 and could take several years, meaning it is unlikely the team would move in until at least 2024."

and

"A similar proposal for the site in 2018 collapsed, but this time the team and the developers are working closely with city and state officials. All sides expressed confidence that they would gain full approval, in large part because of the affordable housing component and because the factory will be moved to another site in the Bronx and continue to employ its workers."

The last one was a huge takeaway for me too. I know we saw reports moving back to focus on the Bronx in 2018, but nothing seemed to indicate that an actual deal was on the table and it was killed.

For me, the fact that there is also now an agreement in place to purchase the garages is huge. When I spoke with the CB4 district manager, he indicated that the lease between NYCIDA and BPD was a remaining hurdle. This doesn't appear to be the case anymore.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Guys, this is great news. It validates what Soup has been writing for the Outfield and what I heard over the summer.

Mark is right about Randy Levine. He technically isn't with NYCFC, but he isn't providing quotes for this article without coordinating with the Club. This means that the Club is comfortable on some level with letting the news get out.

And that is a sign that things are moving along well. It also means that there is now a target for everyone who might want to torpedo the deal. Still, with BDB and Cuomo on board and supportive, we should be cautiously optimistic. The downside to me is that it's a complicated deal that involves a lot more than just a stadium on a few acres. A lot of things have to work out.

 

[Gotham Gator]

And for those who have doubted the Yankees support for the team, I liked the below quotes.

The complicated plan was made possible when the Yankees’ president, Randy Levine, approached Maddd Equities, a developer that produces affordable housing in the city, and said the team would be willing to scale back its requirement for thousands of parking spaces in the immediate area of Yankee Stadium, allowing Maddd to purchase them.​

​

* * *​

​

When N.Y.C.F.C. joined forces with the Yankees in 2013, it not only gave the soccer club an alliance with one of the most venerable institutions in the city, but it also gave the team access to Levine, a former deputy mayor familiar with the complex web of public and private bureaucracies in the city.​

​

Levine was part of the search for the new stadium from the beginning. He said De Blasio, Patchett and community leaders in the South Bronx were instrumental in shepherding the project, and that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s transportation team has been helpful in opening up the waterfront.​

 

[adam]

And for those who have doubted the Yankees support for the team, I liked the below quotes.

The complicated plan was made possible when the Yankees’ president, Randy Levine, approached Maddd Equities, a developer that produces affordable housing in the city, and said the team would be willing to scale back its requirement for thousands of parking spaces in the immediate area of Yankee Stadium, allowing Maddd to purchase them.​

​

* * *​

​

When N.Y.C.F.C. joined forces with the Yankees in 2013, it not only gave the soccer club an alliance with one of the most venerable institutions in the city, but it also gave the team access to Levine, a former deputy mayor familiar with the complex web of public and private bureaucracies in the city.​

​

Levine was part of the search for the new stadium from the beginning. He said De Blasio, Patchett and community leaders in the South Bronx were instrumental in shepherding the project, and that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s transportation team has been helpful in opening up the waterfront.​

If I had a holdover tenant I wanted to get rid of and a good relationship with my neighbor who has a space they could move to, you bet I’m making that call. Does that make mean I have the tenant’s best interest in mind?

 

[Ulrich]

the times were probably sitting on this article till they had the quotes. And club gave it today to mitigate this disaster.

I seriously doubt the NYTimes had this article waiting to be published. I also doubt they have been researching it in the background. Somebody definitely dropped this story to them, and who to contact for quotes, and if anybody thinks otherwise you’re naive or stubborn, because the NYTimes does not devote budget to covering local soccer. The timing is not a coincidence.

 

[Gotham Gator]

If I had a holdover tenant I wanted to get rid of and a good relationship with my neighbor who has a space they could move to, you bet I’m making that call. Does that make mean I have the tenant’s best interest in mind?

Look, NYCFC is always going to be second fiddle to the Yankees in that stadium. There is no way around that. But the article makes clear that it wasn't just a phone call from Levine. He has been instrumental throughout. Plus, it would have been easy for the Yankees to not waive the parking requirement - or to demand something back from the city in order to waive it. They didn't. They used it to help the Club.

 

[FredMertz]

i never said it was wrong. I just think the method is bullshit that it was released now for a few reasons;

1. Why wait so long if it’s not finalized? Why never confirm past sights that were not finalized? Why today?
2. Sims just gave a huge speech about not announcing things till contracts are signed to avoid the backlash of CCL in NJ last night. Then the very next day they put their name on something not signed yet???
3. Boom! right after a PR disaster this comes out.

it’s still not a done deal. We didn’t learn anything more than what was in the outfield article. It’s probably getting done. But I’m still too pissed about all the other shit to fall for their 3 card monty routine today.

I would guess they didn’t comment on CCL yesterday because they knew this was coming out.

the Times would not publish this based on a leak from the team. The quotes and their local connections make the mere fact that they published it incremental to the Outfield’s spectacular breaking of the story.
And this CCL thing is hardly a PR disaster. There probably aren’t 15,000 people in the tri-State area who’s lives are impacted by this and could give 2 shits. We in this forum have no reasonable perspective whatsoever on NYCFC-related issues.
This makes me happy and I hope it comes to fruition.
heres’s a gif of all of our founding member bricks being prepared...

 

[Ulrich]

Look, NYCFC is always going to be second fiddle to the Yankees in that stadium. There is no way around that. But the article makes clear that it wasn't just a phone call from Levine. He has been instrumental throughout. Plus, it would have been easy for the Yankees to not waive the parking requirement - or to demand something back from the city in order to waive it. They didn't. They used it to help the Club.

I’m sure there’s a creative way they’re writing it off as bad debt since it was a commodity/service agreement that is being surrendered. So they’ll do just fine.

 

[FredMertz]

I seriously doubt the NYTimes had this article waiting to be published. I also doubt they have been researching it in the background. Somebody definitely dropped this story to them, and who to contact for quotes, and if anybody thinks otherwise you’re naive or stubborn, because the NYTimes does not devote budget to covering local soccer. The timing is not a coincidence.

This isn’t a local soccer story, which I agree they barely cover. This is a local development story, which is one of the main focuses of their local coverage.