As his franchise was rolling out interior designs for its most important project, NYCFC CEO Brad Sims set the bar high — very high — for the impact of the soccer-specific stadium in Queens.
“In my opinion, and it’s a biased opinion, New York City FC should be the undisputed flagship franchise of ♈Major League Soccer,” Sims told The Post. “The one thing that has really held us back is not having a stadium to call our ❀own. And once we have what we believe is going to be a cathedral of soccer for New York City and the country, there’s no more excuses. There’s nothing holding us back.
“We’re going to have this jewel of a venue. We think we’re going to have the hottest ticket in town.”
The reported $780 million stadium — which is privately funded and by far the most eꦇxpensive MLS venue — is slated to open in 2027 across the street from Citi Field in Queens.
The project has been delayed and reimagined multiple times since NYCFC debuted in 2015, as political red tape and a mayoral changeover sabo✱taged plans to 🦂build the stadium adjacent to Yankee Stadium.
Amid the chop shops at Willets Point, Sims believes NYCFC found the ideal location for publ💃🌟ic transportation and a built-in soccer fan base.
He was less cer꧂tain of the strategy behind signing a marquee player for the 2027 opener, though “definitely” open to the possibility.
“In order to fulfill our potential as a club in the long term, we need to capture casual fans and significantly grow our overall fan base from where it is today,” Sims said. ♏“And I think a great way to do that is to get a marquee player.
“So we haven’t committed yet in terms of internally to what our team is going to look like in 2027, or even 2026. That’s not been a big focus of ours because right now we want players who fit into a scheme and system, and we’ve been pleased with our squads. But it’s on the table, I would say. It’s defi⭕nitely on the table.”
NYCFC, the 2021 MLS champions, has enjoyed soccer success after a bumpy st✅a🌊rt to its existence.
The initial roster-building♐ strategy was to sign o൲lder international stars — and it largely backfired.
David Villa, the club’s first-ever 🍃signing in 2015, remained a strong scorer in MLS but was later accused of sexually harassing an NYCFC intern.
Frank Lampard never seemed interested in playing for NYCFC, logging only 29 games over two seasons after delaying his deb🍨ut to hold onto a fading English Premier League career.
Andrea 🌊Pirlo, t༺he legendary Italian midfielder, was old and ineffective by the time he got to New York.
Keep up with the most important sports news
ღ Sign up for Starting Lineup for the biggest stories. 𒁃
Thanks for signing up
None of those🅘 players were featured Tuesd𓆏ay in a highlight video documenting the franchise’s history.
It was played to the media be🍨fore NYCFC unveiled, among other things, its premium seating arrangements and miniature model of the arena.
“We started the club with pretty major marquee players and until last year they were the three worst years we ever had on the pitch,” said Sims, who joined NYCFC in 2017 after serving as an executive with the Cavaliers during LeBron James’ championship run. “Ultimately, we made a shift. We won w💯ith a team that didn’t have any quote-unquote marquee players.
“And some teams around the league, like the L.A. Galaxy, for instance, their brand promise to their fans is like, ‘We’re going to have a big-name aging⛄ superstar for you to come out and see.’ … For us, we wanted to move to a brand promise to fans that we’re going to be consistent winners. And since 2016, we’ve had the most points in MLS.”
But i♐n terms of generating popularity and revenue, NYCFC didn’t capitalize on the success while playing home games in baseball venues — mostly Yankee Stadium.
It even had to “host” contests at their r👍ival’s Red Bull Arena in New Jersey.
That problem wil💯l be solved in 202🍃7 if all goes according to plan.
Sims also relay♋ed the hope of hosting a professional women’s team inside the new Queens stadium.
“For the long-term viability for 🐎a club, being a tenant is not really viable,” Sims said. “The revenue streams that you miss🌳 out on — naming rights, stadium entitlements, sponsorship categories that are in competition with your landlord. Yankee Stadium and Citi Field are great partners but they’re designed for baseball.
“Having control is super key.”
