By Sarina Trangle
Major League soccer is not blowing the whistle on scoring a stadium in Queens.
Back when MLS announced its New York City Football Club franchise in May 2013, the TimesLedger Newspapers spotted three locations on its list of 24 potential stadium sites — a central Queens spot, an Astoria location and a lot adjacent to Aqueduct Racetrack.
The club initially pursued plans for an elevated stadium in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, but dropped the bid amid stiff community opposition.
With the Bronx borough president beckoning the team to head north, it began negotiating for land near Yankee Stadium — the baseball team and an Abu Dhabi sheik co-own the club. But those familiar with the league’s pursuit said talks stalled in the mainland borough.
Though other locations have been mentioned — state Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) said soccer officials visited him in Albany and raised the idea of a stadium near Belmont racetrack in Long Island; and urban planner Paul Graziano, who helped fight the park plan, said a western Staten Island site had been explored — many said the league seemed to have its sights on South Ozone Park.
In a statement, the club said only that it was reviewing several undisclosed locations.
Addabbo said MLS was interested in a parking lot south of the horse track, which he believed was owned by the city, but under a long-term lease agreement with Port Authority.
“It’s city land, the mayor’s office has every right to administer the property. But what do you do with the Port Authority lease, just break it?” asked Addabbo, who currently opposes the idea. “We would have to have long discussions about infrastructure and roadway upgrades.”
Neither the mayor’s office nor Port Authority returned requests for comment.
Similarly, Ozone Park Civic Association President Howard Kamph said any uptick in traffic concerned him.
“There’s only one train line. There is no major roadways there but the Belt Parkway. The Van Wyck is already bad,” he said. “There is only one road into the casino.”
Resorts World declined to comment.
The development would likely go through the Uniform Land Use Review procedure, which sends proposals to the relevant community board for discussion, the borough president for recommendations, the City Planning Commission for approval and then the City Council for a vote. Typically, legislators defer to the lawmaker who represents the district in question — in this case City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park).
In a statement, Ulrich said he was open to the stadium.
“A soccer stadium would create jobs, stimulate economic development and make Queens the city’s premier sports destination,” he said. “I will be working closely with the community and my fellow elected officials to see if the proposed site in my district is the right fit before making a final decision.”
Borough President Melinda Katz said she would welcome a stadium to Queens, but was unsure if the Aqueduct lot was an appropriate location.
“I don’t have the information necessary to take a position,” she said. “What’s the cost? Are they paying for it? … How are we going to deal with the traffic? Is the MTA going to be involved with the subway?”
Because Aqueduct uses the parking lot, the state’s Franchise Oversight Board would have to approve the move, according to Lee Park, a spokesman for the state Gaming Commission.
Lee said the board did not know much about stadium plans yet.
Reach reporter Sarina Trangle at 718-260-4546 or by e-mail at strangle@cnglocal.com.
