NYCFC stadium deal in limbo over parking
BY JASON COHEN
In 2020 published reports
surfaced that a Major League
Soccer stadium could be coming
to the South Bronx, but a
project eight years in the making
is now on the verge of falling
apart.
Plans to construct a privately
fi nanced, 25,000-seat
stadium in the South Bronx
for the NYCFC soccer team as
part of a development project
costing more than $1 billion
have been halted over the Yankees
request for additional
parking spots.
An NYC Economic Development
Corporation (EDC)
spokesperson said the city is
disappointed the deal is on
hold, telling the Bronx Times
that the city only learned the
Yankees were walking away
from it through media reports.
According to the spokesperson,
the Yankees tried to
change the terms of the deal
by asking for 5,500 parking
spots just days before the plan
was to be presented to Community
Board 4, catching the
city off guard.
“We have been and remain
committed to all parties to
reach a resolution that benefi
ts the community and the
city,” the spokesperson said.
“The underutilized parking
lots around Yankee Stadium
can be so much more than
they are today.”
NYCFC, which currently
plays its home games at Yankee
Stadium and is partially
owned by the Bronx Bombers,
has been looking for a home
of its own since before joining
MLS in 2015.
The plan for the site in
the South Bronx had NYCFC
working with the EDC and
project developer Maddd Equities
to demolish the 153rd
Street Garage, next to the old
Yankee Stadium and parts of
an elevator factory to build
the stadium, affordable housing
units, a school, hotel and
retail stores.
While the Yankees would
lose this parking, they would
keep Garage 3 and the lots on
River Avenue and the Harlem
River. Those places only allot
to 5,182 parking spots, not
the 5,500 spaces the Yankees
want.
Yankees Vice President
Randy Levine said he’s not
pleased with the recent turn
of events.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 2 ULY 30-AUG. 5, 2021 BTR
“We had eight years of meetings
with the de Blasio administration,”
he said. “I feel very disappointed
that this project is not
going to move forward because
the city, EDC and bondholders
reneged on their words.”
Levine told the Bronx Times
that he and his colleagues were
under the impression the new
stadium was going to happen.
While Levine thinks the deal
is dead, the city is still willing
to come to the table and work
things out.
As part of the new Yankee
Stadium redevelopment in 2006,
the city was obligated to provide
9,127 parking spots for home
games. The lots and garages are
located on city-owned land on a
99-year lease with Bronx Parking
Lot Development Corporation
that expires in 2106.
In 2007, a bondholder issued
$237 million to renovate
the garages, but since then
they have been underutilized
and generated minimal revenue.
Typically, there are only
3,500 spots used for Yankee
games and in 2018 the average
occupancy of the lots was just
36%. The city attributes this
to Metro-North’s East 153rd
Street Station, which opened
in 2009, and ride-sharing services.
A few years ago, the Yankees
and Maddd Equities
came to the EDC with a proposal
to address the issues of
excess parking and to resolve
the bond default for the underutilized
parking lots and garages
around Yankee Stadium,
according to sources.
Since then, the city and EDC
have worked with the parties
to fi nd a resolution to these issues
and to identify potential
futures uses for the underutilized
parking facilities in partnership
with the community.
But according to a source
with knowledge of the negotiations,
if the Yankees had
dropped their demand for 5,500
parking spots, then the project
would have moved forward.
The source also said that the
Yankees feel the city made
a commitment to them for a
certain number of spaces, but
that is far from the truth.
“We encourage the parties
to resolve their differences
so we can get a deal back on
track,” the source added.
The map of a proposed NYCFC soccer stadium near Yankee Stadium.
Photo courtesy Maddd Equities