Images: New York City FC
Major League Soccer team New York City FC has announced that its new stadium, which is scheduled to open ahead of the 2027 season, will be known as Etihad Park.
Etihad Airways has acquired naming rights to the stadium as part of a 20-year deal, which was facilitated in-house by NYCFC and City Football Group partnership teams. A series of renderings have been released by NYCFC to depict the stadium with its new Etihad Park branding.
The airline already serves as the shirt sponsor of NYCFC and other clubs under the City Football Group umbrella, including Manchester City, Girona and Melbourne City. Manchester City’s home ground has been known as Etihad Stadium since 2011.
NYCFC has played at Yankee Stadium, home of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees, since launching in 2015. The club has long sought its own stadium, with several previous proposals having failed to come to fruition.
Plans for the project were first announced in November 2022. Etihad Park will be the first major-league sports venue to be built in New York City since 2012, when Barclays Center, home of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, opened its doors.
NYCFC’s new stadium is being built in Willets Point, Queens, within walking distance of the New York Mets’ Citi Field and the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The 25,000-capacity stadium will be the first fully electric sports stadium in New York City and MLS.
In September, NYCFC appointed Klutch Sports Group and its Global Partnerships division as the agency of record for founding partnerships at the stadium. NYCFC marketed naming rights for the stadium in-house, but Klutch is seeking out founding partners for the venue.
The stadium forms part of the wider Willets Point Redevelopment project, which New York City Council voted to approve the next phase of back in April. The development will also include 2,500 new affordable housing units, a new 650-seat public school, a brand-new hotel, and more than 150,000 square feet of public open space.
Brad Sims, NYCFC chief executive, said: “This is an historic announcement for New York City FC, Etihad Airways, and New York City. Etihad Airways has been a fantastic partner to the club for over a decade, and we are proud to call Etihad Park the home of our great club.
“For over a decade, we’ve been investing in New York with a vision of building the city into one of the soccer capitals of the world. Etihad Airways has been alongside us every step of the way and we’re thrilled to be making this announcement with them. Etihad Park will be the physical evidence of our deep and longstanding investment in New York City and will become a cathedral of soccer in the United States.”
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