NHL ice hockey franchise the New York Islanders and Major League Soccer outfit New York City Football Club (NYCFC) yesterday (Sunday) revealed further details of their competing plans to redevelop part of Belmont Park racetrack into a new home stadium.
NYCFC, which currently plays its home games at Yankee Stadium, is proposing a 26,000-seater venue and 400,000sq ft of accompanying retail and entertainment space, 15.3 acres of open space a five-acre park and a two-acre football facility, according to the New York Post.
The club has said that should its project get the go-ahead, it would create 4,500 construction jobs and 1,600 retail and stadium jobs.
Avi Kollenscher, senior vice-president of The Related Companies, developer on the proposal, said: “[This is an] opportunity to bring a world-class professional club and a world-class arena to this location.”
Meanwhile, the NHL’s Islanders, which has been located at the Barclays Center since 2015, is keen to move back to the Long Island area and has put forward a proposal for an 18,000-capacity arena, with an entertainment hub, hotel and retail village at Belmont Park.
The franchise added that should it be successful in winning approval for its plan, this would lead to the creation of 5,500 construction jobs, as well as around 2,000 full-time positions at the venue and its accompanying facilities.
Kate Aufhauser, of Sterling Project Development, which is supporting the team in its efforts, said: “This arena will not just host a handful of hockey games. This will be programmed for concerts, family shows, trade conventions.”
Both the Islanders and NYCFC have submitted their proposals to the Empire State Development Corp, with a successful bid due to be announced within the coming months.
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