A report out of New York City says efforts to build a new NYCFC stadium have stalled, as team owners are pursuing the effort with considerably less effort than in previous months.
Team ownership, which includes Manchester City Football Club owner Sheik Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan and the New York Yankees, had pitched city officials on a soccer-specific stadium near Yankee Stadium, replacing financially distressed parking ramps and some commercial land. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg embraced the place; new Mayor Bill de Blasio was less effusive in his support, but still expressed hope a deal could be made.
But now Capital, the New York publishing arm of Politico, is reporting stadium efforts have slowed considerably:
“It is all quiet on all fronts at this time,” emailed Ed Moran, an advisor to the company that controls the parking lots where the stadium would be built, and which will have reach a deal with bondholders in order for the arena to proceed.
One Bronx official who has in the past been looped in on stadium developments told me, when I asked for an update, “It doesn’t seem to have the same fervor as it did a few months ago, the whole stadium deal.”…
Asked for comment, Risa Heller, a spokeswoman for NYCFC, said, “We are working closely with the de Blasio administration to find a world-class site for a soccer-specific stadium.”
There is a natural ebb and tide to all large development projects, and times when there’s drudge work happening behind the scenes, especially when financial plans are being worked out. These efforts get more complicated when there’s multiple players involved. So it’s hard to say whether stadium development has actually stalled versus a quiet time before the next burst of activity.
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