Etihad Park hits milestone as Willets Point blooms
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The final beam was placed onto the structure that will one day be Etihad Park on Wednesday. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach
By Ryan Schwach
The final steel beam was placed atop Etihad Park in Willets Point on Wednesday, marking a major milestone in not just the stadium’s construction, but that of the new neighborhood soon-to-be built in Queens.
Officials, union leaders and representatives from New York City Football Club raised the NYCFC-blue colored beam into the rafters of the still-under-construction stadium on Wednesday as work toward creating a new community at Willets Point continued.
The topping off of Etihad, the 25,000-seat soccer venue, is the crown jewel of the Willets Point efforts, which also includes 2,500 units of affordable housing, a hotel, a new school, and community space.
“It's been 101 years since The Great Gatsby gave Willets Point the nickname ‘The Valley of Ashes,’” Borough President Donovan Richards said. “After a century of neglect and decades of dead dreams, Etihad Park is rising out of those ashes like a phoenix, and today we take another historic step toward turning the Valley of Ashes into the ‘Valley of Opportunity.’ We take another historic step toward bringing the world's game to the World’s Borough. And what's rising out of these ashes is the anchor of Willets Point.”
Etihad Park, which will host its first soccer matches in 2027, is the first stadium in the history of New York City designed specifically for the beautiful game, and will also be the city’s first all electric sporting venue.
“It's hard to believe that more than a decade ago, we set out with what we thought was a simple idea: build a football club for New York City and a permanent home for the club,” said Marty Edelman, the vice chairman of NYCFC. “We looked across five boroughs, we looked at 30 different sites, trying to find the right place. But we didn't just want a site. We wanted a home.”
Eventually, they settled on Queens, known for its cultural diversity and soccer-loving communities.
“There was only one place…the World's Borough,” said Edelman. “Queens represents everything this club stands for, and a community that welcomed this project to make it possible.”
The project was pushed by local officials, including Richards, former Mayor Eric Adams and former Councilmember Francisco Moya.
“We're not just watching a structure rise, we're watching a vision take shape right here in our backyard,” said Moya, dawning an NYCFC cap. “I never stopped believing. I never stopped believing that we would bring soccer to Queens. And as I stand here today, finally seeing this rise, it's a beautiful thing.”
Officials celebrate the placing of the final beam at Etihad Park on Wednesday. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach
The stadium will also host other events, including nine Olympic soccer matches in 2028 as part of the summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
There is also a plan to bring some level of women’s soccer to the stadium, according to NYCFC COO Jennifer O'Sullivan.
For Queens NYCFC fans who have followed the team since its inception in 2015, watching Etihad’s last beam go up was another major step toward a homecoming a long time in the making.
“I grew up in Queens all my life, and to have it in my backyard, it’s amazing,” said Jonathan Salas, a leader of Los Templados, an NYCFC fan group.
Salas and his fellow NYCFC supporters have spent most of the team’s existence, including their 2021 championship campaign, splitting time at home games played at Citi Field, Yankee Stadium and Red Bull Arena in New Jersey.
“Can't even compare the difference that it's going to be,” he said. “Just knowing that we could come here during the week and practice, we could come and have our drums here. There's no restrictions.”
Not only did he tell the Eagle he fully intends to be seated at Etihad for NYCFC’s first true home game in 2027, but he’d be content with never leaving.
“When I pass away, I want my funeral to be held here,” he said.
Willets Point Commons, the first 880 housing units of what will soon make up an entirely new Queens neighborhood. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach
Willets Point will be more than just free kicks on the pitch and the sounds and drums and chants from the future fan section at Etihad — it is poised to be an entirely new Queens neighborhood.
Willets Point Commons, the first 880 units that will soon make up the new Willets Point neighborhood, was built as part of the first phase of the massive project, and has already opened and closed its housing lottery due to a high demand for apartments there.
“The overwhelming number of New Yorkers who applied to live at Willets Point Commons speaks volumes about the demand for high-quality, affordable homes,” said New York City Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Dina Levy earlier this month.
Willets Point Commons is just a small part of the community being built at Willets Point.
In total, the first two phases of the redevelopment are expected to bring 2,500 affordable homes, around 150,000 square feet of new public open space, a new public school, over 20,000 square feet of retail space, a new 250-key hotel and the stadium.
“From the ‘Valley of Ashes,’ we are building a brand-new neighborhood with thousands of affordable homes, valuable public space, and the city’s first soccer-specific stadium,” Adams said at the topping out ceremony for Willets Point Commons last year. “With today’s topping off ceremony, we are one significant step closer to bringing this historic plan into reality and giving New Yorkers the homes, public space, and jobs they deserve.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani was not present, but is in favor of the work going on at Willets Point, a stones throw from his former Queens assembly district.
“The conversion of this previously industrial area into a thriving hub of community and commerce is a beautiful example of the sustainable and replicable development that we seek,” said Maya Handa, Mamdani’s World Cup czar. “The stadium will bring even more life, vibrancy and economic activity to an already beautiful and dynamic neighborhood.”
